New SuperBug Spread By Pets

New SuperBug Spread By Pets pixabay.com And what bug is more commonly heard of nowadays than the many strains of E. coli? Well, a pet shop worker was found infected by the fearsome strain of E.coli that resists antibiotics. And the dogs in the store carried the same strain. The man, a 50-year-old that has kidney inflammation, had this E. coli infection with the mcr-1 gene, the DNA that resists the antibiotics used to treat such illnesses. Tests were then conducted on 39 dogs as well as 14 cats in this pet shop, revealing that four dogs and two cats carried this strain of E. coli. According to the researchers: “All six isolates were resistant to colistin, polymyxin B, cephalosporin, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin … These findings suggest that mcr-1 producing E. coli can colonize companion animals and be transferred between companion animals and humans. The findings also suggest that, in addition to food animals and humans, companion animals can serve as a reservoir of colistin-resistant E. coli.” Of course, after the 50-year-old man was admitted to the hospital, two other men in the same ward were infected with the same strain of E.coli. Researchers haven’t concluded that he was the cause of the infection in the other occupants, but common sense would suggest that’s exactly what happened. So the problem becomes exponentially greater now, as this strain of E. coli appears to be easily spread, and it’s not yet curable. Based on past studies, researchers believed that people may be infected by the food they eat specifically animal products. Of course, the Zika virus has recently taken the media by storm, but the mcr-1 strain of E. coli really shouldn’t be taking a back seat, especially with the risks that come along with it. According to Dr. Thomas Frieden, when giving a speech about the Zika virus, “The medicine cabinet is empty for some patients. It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently.” Researchers found the strain quickly, located on the plasmid. What is a plasmid? According to NBC News, it is a “little structure of DNA that exist outside the chromosomes where most of the DNA is found. They’re handy little carriers that can pass off a stretch of DNA as easily as a courier hands an envelope to a client.” And according to the researchers, this is the worst possible place for the virus to be. They claim to have large amounts of concern in the location, especially because the plasmid was carried by E. coli itself, which already housed superbug qualities before even picking up a mcr-1 strain. E. coli has seven resistant genes in and of itself, encoded in its DNA. On the plasmid, it has many more. But most importantly: the E. coli isn’t yet invincible. Right now, it’s able to be killed off with carbapenems, an antibiotic that was tested on a 49-year-old patient who is now home and doing well despite having been infected. But, like many illnesses, early detection is going to be a key to stopping the strain from doing serious damage or resulting in death. The CDC and state health officials track down everyone that patients with this strain of illness have come in contact with. They do this not only to find the source, but to make sure that it hasn’t/won’t continue to spread. And researchers have worked tirelessly to ensure there aren’t other strains out there at the moment. They are just trying to keep such a super bug from hitting the general public in mass proportions. The goal is simple: catch the problem early and solve it. Even the President of the United States, Barack Obama, has directed the government to work on a solution to this problem, before these superbugs are attacking mass populations. Still, the drug development process takes years and costs billions, so the idea of a cure is definitely far from being realized. In fact, it really hasn’t even started. And now that pets are also in danger, the fear of this superbug spreading has just increased exponentially. Companion animals and food animals both potentially infected doesn’t leave the human race with many other options. And even worse, scientists are worried that this E. coli bacteria with the mcr-1 gene will pass this same gene to another superbug, which could have other mutations as well. If this were to happen, it would create a superbug that resists all known antibiotics. In other words, it would be 100 percent incurable. And according to the CDC, already more than 2 million people are infected by drug resistant germs every year. Of these 2 million, 23,000 die from the infection.