Researchers discover new drug-resistant superbug spreading in hospitals

A new superbug that is resistant to all known antibiotics have recently been making headlines, raising concerns across the world.

Australian scientists have discovered a new superbug spreading in hospitals called Staphylococcus epidermidis that is resistant to all known antibiotics and can lead to severe infections or even death.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne discovered three strains of the bug in samples from 10 countries, including strains in Europe that cannot be controlled by any drug available in market.

“We started with samples in Australia but did a global snapshot and found that it’s in many countries and many institutions around the world. It seems to have spread.” Ben Howden, director of the university’s Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory told AFP.

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The bug is a type of bacteria commonly found on human skin and usually infects the elderly, patients with weakened immune system, recovering from surgery or those who have had prosthetic materials implanted. “It can be deadly, but it’s usually in patients who already are very sick in hospital... it can be quite hard to eradicate and the infections can be severe,” said Howden.

After looking at hundreds of the superbug specimens from 78 hospitals globally, the team discovered that some strains of the bug made a minor change in its DNA leading to resistance to two of the most common antibiotics, often administered in tandem to treat hospital infections.

“These two antibiotics are unrelated and you would not expect one mutation to cause both antibiotics to fail,” said Jean Lee, co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

As per ABC News, the inappropriate prescription of antibiotics is a major factor for the rise of superbugs, and also the researchers believe that the bug is spreading rapidly because of high use of antibiotics in intensive care units, where patients are sickest and strong drugs are prescribed as routine. Howden said that hospitals needed to do more to monitor and prevent the spread of the superbug.

“This is just another example of the use of antibiotics driving bacteria to become more and more resistant. We just have to be alert to the risk of these types of superbugs and find ways to prevent and treat them when they arise,” said Howden.