Doctors identify ‘alarming’ new strain of drug-resistant bacteria in Los Angeles
LA TimesThe CDC has been tracking infections by strains of Shigella bacteria that are impervious to most antibiotics. All three cases had a distinct genetic mutation that made the bacteria resistant to yet another class of antibiotics, the cephalosporins, which are often used to treat Shigella infections when other drugs fail. “We are dealing with a very stealthy pathogen, and it’s really successful in spreading in a community.” Two years ago, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control began tracking a sharp rise in cases of extensively drug-resistant shigellosis — infections by particular strains of Shigella bacteria that are impervious to most antibiotics. A study in the medical journal Lancet this year found that without new medications, “superbug” infections could kill nearly 2 million people a year in 2050 — a 67.5% increase from the 1.14 million lives lost this way in 2021. “The discovery of any extensively antibiotic-resistant bacteria is alarming, especially in cities like Los Angeles,” said Henry Skinner, chief executive of the AMR Action Fund, which invests in antimicrobial drugs.
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Health officials issue warning over an 'extremely antibiotic-resistant' bug mainly affecting gay men
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