Scientists have been warning us this moment would come: A Pennsylvania woman has been found to be carrying a newly discovered superbug — one resistant to even a powerful antibiotic of last resort.
So let’s get serious — really serious — about what scientists also say: that we need to stop abusing antibiotics by overprescribing them and using them to fatten up animals that aren’t sick. Those practices give bacteria a better chance of developing resistance to every antibiotic we have in our arsenal.
The superbug in Pennsylvania was a strain of E coli with an mcr-1 gene that had been seen for decades elsewhere, but never in people in the United States. Scientists worry the gene, which provides resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort, will spread to other bacteria, leading to infections that can’t be treated.
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Routine operations could become so life-threatening that they no longer could be performed. Even minor infections could become deadly. A British study estimated superbugs could kill more people by 2050 — 10 million a year — than cancer kills today.
The Pennsylvania bug, which also showed up in a pig intestine in the United States, is part of a worrisome growth in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea and staph infections are getting harder to treat.
Antibiotics ushered in an age of miracle medicine over the past century. But rising antibiotic resistance plays a role in at least 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses every year. The Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and others see a day when invincible superbugs spread around the globe.
Some companies have started taking a stand. Last year, McDonald’s said it would curtail the use of antibiotics in chickens. Tyson Foods said it would eliminate human antibiotics from broiler chickens by next year. Pilgrim’s Pride said it would get rid of antibiotics from 25 percent of its chickens by 2019. But about 70 percent of antibiotic use continues to take place on farms.
Scientists are racing to develop new treatments to replace antibiotics that no longer work. Last year, the White House announced a five-year plan to fight superbugs. Laboratories, research facilities and drug companies are seeking new approaches for circumventing the resistance mechanisms bacteria have developed.
No one knows where that research will lead or how long it will take. In the meantime, the medical community needs a more consistent and comprehensive approach when it comes to antibiotics.
Doctors can help by not prescribing antibiotics for viral infections, against which antibiotics are useless. Ordinary people can help by using prescribed antibiotics exactly as directed, cooking food thoroughly, and washing their hands.
Antibiotics are an inheritance we should treasure. We need to keep them effective into the future.
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