Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Woman Killed by a Superbug Resistant to Every Available Antibiotic

posted by on Sunday January 15 2017, @01:53AM   Printer-friendly
from the bleach-doesn't-count dept.

AnonTechie writes:

If it sometimes seems like the idea of antibiotic resistance, though unsettling, is more theoretical than real, please read on.

Public health officials from Nevada are reporting on a case of a woman who died in Reno in September from an incurable infection. Testing showed the superbug that had spread throughout her system could fend off 26 different antibiotics.

"It was tested against everything that's available in the United States ... and was not effective," said Dr. Alexander Kallen, a medical officer in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of health care quality promotion. Although this isn't the first time someone in the US has been infected with pan-resistant bacteria, at this point, it is not common. It is, however, alarming.

[Source]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/woman-killed-by-a-superbug-resistant-to-every-available-antibiotic/

[Journal Ref.]: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6601a7.htm

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Woman Killed by a Superbug Resistant to Every Available Antibiotic | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 36 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 15 2017, @12:39PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 15 2017, @12:39PM (#454055)

    "...in a survey of 71 different environments, researchers led by Joseph Nesme, a graduate student in Environmental Microbial genomics at the University of Lyon in France, found that drug resistance isn’t just the product of man-made forces. Reporting in the journal Current Biology, they found antibiotic resistant genes are already present in locations like Arctic permafrost as well as in waste water and indoor air. The fact that the genes even appear in bugs located in remote locations suggests that they may develop even without antibiotics.

    In fact, they may confer some other advantages to bacteria, such as helping them to communicate better, that may keep these around for centuries. “Many of the environmental data sets used in our study are not known to show any history of antibiotic exposure,” says Nesme. “There is no doubt that indeed these antibiotic resistant genes are predating antibiotic usage by humans. The real question is what is causing these genes to become problematic in some cases, and not in others.”

    http://time.com/92360/antibiotic-resistant-genes-are-everywhere-even-in-arctic-ice/ [time.com]

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +2  
       Informative=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 2) by Wootery on Monday January 16 2017, @01:01PM

    by Wootery (2341) on Monday January 16 2017, @01:01PM (#454359)

    You're trying to twist the matter. Don't.

    There's a difference between something merely existing, and something being prevalent. Widespread use of antibiotics has changed the selective pressure on these species, leading to a rise in the proportion of bacteria which are antibiotics-resistant. Don't try to imply that there's nothing new about superbugs.