An outbreak of drug-resistant salmonella across the US in 2018-19 may have been caused by a 41% spike in the use of antibiotics in cows the previous year. In , the investigators note that just a year earlier, the Food and Drug Administration recorded a spike in the use of antibiotics called macrolides by cattle farmers. The strain, which affected 225 people and killed two, was found by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be resistant to numerous antibiotics, including azithromycin, which is often prescribed to treat the infection. A new superbug has emerged that can resist all types of antibiotic treatment — but only if given early enough after exposure to bacteria such as MRSA or Campylobacter jejuni.
An outbreak of drug-resistant salmonella across the US in 2018-19 may have been caused by a 41% spike in the use of antibiotics in cows the previous year. The strain, which affected 225 people and killed two, was found by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be resistant to numerous antibiotics, including azithromycin, which is often prescribed to treat the infection. A new superbug has emerged that can resist all types of antibiotic treatment — but only if given early enough after exposure to bacteria such as MRSA or Campylobacter jejuni.