A new patient who carried a type of bacteria that is resistant to an antibiotic has been identified. The number of cases reported in the United States increased to four. The patients had E.coli with a gene called MCR-1, which makes the bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘The E coli bacteria containing the MCR-1 gene have been found in farm animals, but it isn't clear how people get the bacteria.’
Tweet it Now
A two-year-old Connecticut girl, was diagnosed MCR-1 in June after she returned from a trip to the Caribbean."The girl had an illness that caused diarrhea, which began in mid-June while she was traveling overseas. Her diarrhea was not caused by the bacteria that had the mcr-1 gene -- the cause has not been definitively diagnosed," said senior researcher Maroya Spalding Walters, a CDC epidemiologist.
The MCR-1 gene did not produce toxins. When the girl got better, the bacteria that contained the gene disappeared within a week of her recovery.
“Fortunately, none of these infections has spread beyond the original patient,” Walters said.
“Still, MCR-1 is resistant to colistin, which is reserved to treat severe infections that are resistant to other antibiotics.We have seen colistin resistance in the past, but what makes this MCR-1 gene so important is that it can be transmitted between different types of bacteria," Walters explained.
Advertisement
Advertisement