Antibiotic-Resistant 'Superbug' Rejects Common Bacteria

New findings published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases shows us that we may have a new superbug in our midst that's on its way to antibiotic resistance.

Researchers have discovered that two genes seem to play a major role in the resistance against a strong class of antibiotics called carbapenems. Several patients at two Los Angeles hospitals were recently infected by the bacteria that has also been linked to medical scopes and resistant to the antibiotics, as well.

"Carbapenems are one of our last resorts for treating bacterial infections, what we use when nothing else works," said senior author Gautam Dantas, associate professor of pathology and immunology, in a news release. "Given what we know now, I don't think it's overstating the case to say that for certain types of infections, we may be looking at the start of the post-antibiotic era, a time when most of the antibiotics we rely on to treat bacterial infections are no longer effective."

Researchers studied a family of bacteria known as Enterobacteriaceae, including E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter. They also looked at two genes that make up carbapenem resistance; KPC, which was first detected in New York in 2001 and then NDM-1 in New Delhi, India in 2006.

Based on their geographic locations, scientists expected to find two distinct differences in the bacteria. However, they discovered high genetic similarities between them.

"Our findings also suggest it's going to get easier for strains of these bacteria that are not yet resistant to pick up a gene that lets them survive carbapenem treatment," Dantas concluded. "Typically, that's not going to be a problem for most of us, but as drug-resistant forms of Enterobacteriaceae become more widespread, the odds will increase that we'll pass one of these superbugs on to a friend with a weakened immune system who can really be hurt by them."

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