Nowhere to hide from drug resistant super bugs – latest find

CAPE TOWN — Dogged research has uncovered the alarming speed with which antibiotic resistant genes can spread across the globe. The discovery of one such gene in the soil of a Norwegian archipelago – originally uncovered in India three years earlier and 8,000 miles away, illustrates the maxim that you can run, but you can't hide. Superbugs, or multi-drug resistant strains, are a growing threat to every facet of medicine globally. Infections they cause result in high mortality and morbidity. This is because there are few, if any, pharmaceutical and antimicrobial options to treat them. An editorial in the SA Medical Journal five years ago said the drug pipeline was running dry and warned of a 'nil-antibiotic' era. "It's a scary thought – no effective antimicrobial agent available anywhere in the world," it said, urging better surveillance in hospitals where the strains are commonly spread. The authors advice for best practice? "Good antimicrobial stewardship – select an appropriate drug and optimise its dose and duration to cure an infection, while minimising toxicity and conditions that might select for resistant bacterial strains. The empiric choice of antimicrobials should cover the most likely pathogens, endemic to the specific location."  Except when it crops up in icy Norway… – Chris Bateman

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