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The BBC reports that the world is on the cusp of a 'post-antibiotic era'. A new mutation of bacteria in China has something "dubbed the MCR-1 gene", that prevented colistin - the antibiotic of last resort - from killing bacteria.
Chinese scientists identified a new mutation, dubbed the MCR-1 gene, that prevented colistin from killing bacteria.
The report in the Lancet Infectious Diseases showed resistance in a fifth of animals tested, 15% of raw meat samples and in 16 patients.
[...] Resistance to colistin has emerged before. However, the crucial difference this time is the mutation has arisen in a way that is very easily shared between bacteria.
There's plenty to blame - pumping livestock full of them for "preventative measures", doctors prescribing them for colds and flus, and people not finishing a course when they are prescribed them - but the future currently looks bleak.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 20 2015, @10:18AM
I don't understand. How is living in-doors and cleaning yourself like crazy in any way related to antibiotic abuse?
As far as I can tell, such a lifestyle (while most likely very bad for the person themselves) would not lead to bacteria developing antibiotic resistance. Am I wrong?
Or maybe there's an underlying assumption that these people will also eat antibiotics with their every meal "just to be safe"? (in which case yes, they are idiots and they are making the world harder to live in for everyone).