Two reports from China reveal that the the MCR-1 gene, which we previously noted, was found in patients and livestock in China; it is able to shrug off the drug of last resort, Colistin, and has already established itself as a highly multi-drug resistant species. The first report came out on June 30, 2013, when researchers at Beijing University published an article about their findings in Chinese medical journal Guangming Medical Journal. This follows news that MCR-1 has also been found in a British Columbia patient. Scientists have warned that bacteria becoming completely resistant to treatment could plunge medicine back into the dark ages.
Two reports from China reveal that the the MCR-1 gene, which we previously noted, was found in patients and livestock in China; it is able to shrug off the drug of last resort, Colistin, and has already established itself as a highly multi-drug resistant species. The study also reveals that after tests on E-coli isolates from retail meat samples that carried the MCR-1 gene, one E-coli strain from a chicken purchased in a large supermarket was resistant to all antibiotics. This follows news that MCR-1 has also been found in a British Columbia patient. Scientists have warned that bacteria becoming completely resistant to treatment could plunge medicine back into the dark ages.