September 12, 2016
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 2-year-old girl in Connecticut was found to have a strain of E. Coli bacteria that is resistant to the antibiotic colistin. Colistin is used to treat patients who have infections that don't respond to other forms of antibiotics. The gene responsible for the antibiotic-resistance gene is mcr-1, and this is the fourth reported case of mcr-1 in the United States. Thankfully, the girl's bacterial strain was not resistant to other forms of antibiotics, and the girl recovered fully. This gene is carried by a plasmid, which is a mobile piece of DNA that can transfer easily to other bacteria. If this bacteria transfers to different bacteria that is already resistant to all other antibacteria, an invincible superbug would be created.
Katie Zetkulic
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/09/09/newest-superbug-found-in-a-connecticut-toddler/
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