A new, drug-resistant strain of E. coli is causing serious disease, according to a new study in the Aug. 1, 2010 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
"If we could discover the sources of this strain, the transmission pathways that allow it to spread so effectively, and the factors that have led to its rapid emergence, we could find ways to intervene and possibly slow or halt this strains emergence," says study author James Johnson, MD, of the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis.
In the past, highly virulent E. coli strains usually have been susceptible to antibiotics, while highly resistant strains have been fairly weak in terms of their ability to cause disease. The susceptible strains were easily treated even though they caused serious infections, while the resistant ones tended mostly to affect only weakened or vulnerable individuals. Now, the studys findings suggest, the ST131 strain has appeared with a high level of virulence and antimicrobial resistance.
"If this strain gains one additional resistance gene," Johnson adds, "it will become almost untreatable and will be a true superbug, which is a very concerning scenario."