Superbugs: Antibiotic Resistance Is Becoming a Major Public Health Concern

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia T. Alpert
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae

Antibiotic resistance has led to the development of so-called “superbugs” that no longer respond to the current treatment modalities. The array of antibiotics available to treat these infections is dwindling with very few antibiotics in the pipeline. This article discussed the pathogens the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed in their urgent category: (1) Clostridium difficile, (2) Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and (3) Neisseria gonorrhoeae. In addition, a few suggestions for prevention of resistance are offered.

scholarly journals The Problem of Carbapenemase-Producing-Carbapenem-Resistant-Enterobacteriaceae Detection

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph D. Lutgring ◽  
Brandi M. Limbago
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Detection Method ◽  
Molecular Methods ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Reliable Detection ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae

The emergence and spread of carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistantEnterobacteriaceae(CP-CRE) are a significant clinical and public health concern. Reliable detection of CP-CRE is the first step in combating this problem. There are both phenotypic and molecular methods available for CP-CRE detection. There is no single detection method that is ideal for all situations.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Staphylococcus Aureus Isolated from Hamburger Samples in Tehran and their Antibiotic Susceptibility

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Negin Momtaz Bokharaei ◽  
Zahra Rajabi ◽  
MohammadMehdi Soltan Dallal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Inhibitory Concentration ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Disk Diffusion Method ◽  
Food Borne

Introduction:Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the most common food-borne diseases. The antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus has been reported globally. Today, strains of Staphylococcus aureus in food have become a problem in clinical infections and are considerde as a serious public health concern. Methods: A total of 100 samples were tested in the laboratory; including 75 handmade and 25 industrial hamburger samples. The Staphylococcus aureus samples were isolated and identified according to the National Iranian Standard No. 6806-3. Antibiotic resistance was determined by disk diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration was performed. In this study, the antibiotics penicillin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, cefoxitin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, gentamicin, vancomycin, and oxacillin were used. Results: Of 100 analyzed hamburger samples, 39 samples were infected with Staphylococcus aureus (23 industrial and 16 ­ handmade samples). All isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (100%) were susceptible to gentamicin and vancomycin antibiotics. Conclusions: Due to the importance of Staphylococcus aureus, as the supergene antigen and its role in causing food poisoning, contamination of foodstuffs with Staphylococcus aureus can threaten the consumers' health.

Counts of Campylobacter spp. on U.S. Broiler Carcasses

2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1034-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
NORMAN J. STERN ◽  
STEPHEN PRETANIK
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Disease ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Public Exposure ◽  
Raw Poultry ◽  
Campylobacter Spp

Foodborne Campylobacter-associated gastroenteritis remains a public health concern, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that improperly handled poultry is the most important source of this human disease. In response to these concerns, 10 of the largest U.S. poultry integrators cooperatively determined the incidence and counts of Campylobacter on processed broiler carcasses. Prior to conducting the survey, laboratory personnel were trained in a direct Campy-Cefex plating procedure for enumeration of the organism. Before and after the survey enumeration, consistency in reporting was compared among the participating laboratories. Participating laboratories were able to consistently estimate inoculated concentrations of Campylobacter in carcass rinses. Within the central study, we determined the potential exposure of U.S. consumers to Campylobacter spp. associated with broiler carcasses during a 13-month period. Among each of the 13 participating poultry complexes, rinses from 25 randomly selected fully processed carcasses were sampled monthly from individual flocks. Among 4,200 samples, approximately 74% of the carcasses yielded no countable Campylobacter cells. Campylobacter spp. were isolated from approximately 3.6% of all commercially processed broiler carcasses at more than 105 CFU per carcass. Acceptable counts of these organisms on raw poultry carcasses remain to be determined. Nevertheless, this survey indicates industry recognition of its responsibility to assess and reduce public exposure to Campylobacter through broiler chickens.

scholarly journals Integration of Mobile Devices and Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Devices—The Case of C-Reactive Protein Diagnosis

Diagnostics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin-Fang Wu ◽  
Ching-Fen Shen ◽  
Chao-Min Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Reactive Protein

In recent years, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics has promoted antibiotic resistance, which has now become a global public health concern [...]

scholarly journals Vaccination can drive an increase in frequencies of antibiotic resistance among nonvaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (12) ◽  
pp. 3102-3107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Obolski ◽  
José Lourenço ◽  
Craig Thompson ◽  
Robin Thompson ◽  
Andrea Gori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Pathogen Population

The bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major public health concern, being responsible for more than 1.5 million deaths annually through pneumonia, meningitis, and septicemia. Available vaccines target only a subset of serotypes, so vaccination is often accompanied by a rise in the frequency of nonvaccine serotypes. Epidemiological studies suggest that such a change in serotype frequencies is often coupled with an increase of antibiotic resistance among nonvaccine serotypes. Building on previous multilocus models for bacterial pathogen population structure, we have developed a theoretical framework incorporating variation of serotype and antibiotic resistance to examine how their associations may be affected by vaccination. Using this framework, we find that vaccination can result in a rapid increase in the frequency of preexisting resistant variants of nonvaccine serotypes due to the removal of competition from vaccine serotypes.

scholarly journals Vaccination can drive an increase in frequencies of antibiotic resistance among non-vaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Obolski ◽  
José Lourenço ◽  
Sunetra Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Pathogen Population ◽  
Vaccine Serotypes ◽  
Pneumococcal Carriage

AbstractThe bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major public health concern, being responsible for more than 1.5 million deaths annually through pneumonia, meningitis and septicemia. In spite of vaccination efforts, pneumococcal carriage and disease remain high, since available vaccines target only a subset of serotypes and vaccination is often accompanied by a rise in non-vaccine serotypes. Epidemiological studies suggest that such a change in serotype frequencies is often coupled with an increase of antibiotic resistance among non-vaccine serotypes. Building on previous multi-locus models for bacterial pathogen population structure, we have developed a theoretical framework incorporating variation in serotype and antibiotic resistance to examine how their associations may be affected by vaccination. Using this framework, we find that vaccination can result in rapid increase in frequency of pre-existing resistant variants of non-vaccine serotypes due to the removal of competition from vaccine serotypes.

scholarly journals Infections associated with cantaloupe consumption: a public health concern

2005 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. BOWEN ◽  
A. FRY ◽  
G. RICHARDS ◽  
L. BEAUCHAT
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Potential Methods

Fresh produce is an important part of a healthy diet and is consumed in greater quantity in the United States than ever before. Consumption of cantaloupe has recently been associated with several large outbreaks of infections in North America, highlighting the need for a better understanding of practices and processes that may contribute to contamination. We reviewed all cantaloupe-associated outbreaks that were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the literature. Twenty-three outbreaks occurred between 1984 and 2002; 1434 people became ill, 42 were hospitalized, and two died in these outbreaks. Aetiological agents in the outbreaks included five serotypes of Salmonella enterica, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and norovirus. We reviewed processes contributing to cantaloupe contamination, conditions affecting survival and growth of bacterial pathogens on melons, and potential methods for sanitization. For maximum safety, industry, federal, and international partners must collaborate to ensure that appropriate interventions are in place to minimize the risk of contamination and prevent the growth of pathogens during cantaloupe production, processing, storage, and preparation.

scholarly journals Genomic Analysis of Factors Associated with Low Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Sequence Type 95 Strains

mSphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig M. Stephens ◽  
Sheila Adams-Sapper ◽  
Manraj Sekhon ◽  
James R. Johnson ◽  
Lee W. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Bacterial Genetic ◽  
Public Health Strategies

ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a major public health concern. This work was motivated by the observation that only a small proportion of ST95 isolates, a major pandemic lineage of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli, have acquired antibiotic resistance, in contrast to many other pandemic lineages. Understanding bacterial genetic factors that may prevent acquisition of resistance could contribute to the development of new biological, medical, or public health strategies to reduce antibiotic-resistant infections. Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains belonging to multilocus sequence type 95 (ST95) are globally distributed and a common cause of infections in humans and domestic fowl. ST95 isolates generally show a lower prevalence of acquired antimicrobial resistance than other pandemic ExPEC lineages. We took a genomic approach to identify factors that may underlie reduced resistance. We fully assembled genomes for four ST95 isolates representing the four major fimH-based lineages within ST95 and also analyzed draft-level genomes from another 82 ST95 isolates, largely from the western United States. The fully assembled genomes of antibiotic-resistant isolates carried resistance genes exclusively on large (>90-kb) IncFIB/IncFII plasmids. These replicons were common in the draft genomes as well, particularly in antibiotic-resistant isolates, but we also observed multiple instances of a smaller (8.3-kb) ampicillin resistance plasmid that had been previously identified in Salmonella enterica. Among ST95 isolates, pansusceptibility to antibiotics was significantly associated with the fimH6 lineage and the presence of homologs of the previously identified 114-kb IncFIB/IncFII plasmid pUTI89, both of which were also associated with reduced carriage of other plasmids. Potential mechanistic explanations for lineage- and plasmid-specific effects on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance within the ST95 group are discussed. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a major public health concern. This work was motivated by the observation that only a small proportion of ST95 isolates, a major pandemic lineage of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli, have acquired antibiotic resistance, in contrast to many other pandemic lineages. Understanding bacterial genetic factors that may prevent acquisition of resistance could contribute to the development of new biological, medical, or public health strategies to reduce antibiotic-resistant infections.

Detection and Characterization of Targeted Carbapenem-Resistant Healthcare-Associated Threats: Findings from The Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network, 2017–2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Sabour ◽  
Jennifer Y. Huang ◽  
Amelia Bhatnagar ◽  
Sarah E Gilbert ◽  
Maria Karlsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Carbapenem Resistance ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Laboratory Network ◽  
Carbapenemase Gene ◽  
Healthcare Associated

Carbapenemase gene-positive (CP) Gram-negative bacilli are of significant clinical and public health concern. Their rapid detection and containment are critical to preventing their spread and additional infections they can cause. To this end, CDC developed the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (AR Lab Network), in which public health laboratories across all 50 states, several cities, and Puerto Rico characterize clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA), and Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), and conduct colonization screens to detect the presence of mobile carbapenemase genes. In its first three years, the AR Lab Network tested 76,887 isolates and 31,001 rectal swab colonization screens. Targeted carbapenemase genes ( bla KPC , bla NDM , bla OXA-48-like , bla VIM , or bla IMP ) were detected by PCR in 35% of CRE, 2% of CRPA, <1% of CRAB, and 8% of colonization screens tested, respectively. bla KPC and bla VIM were the most common CP-CRE and CP-CRPA, respectively, but regional differences in the frequency of carbapenemase genes detected were apparent. In CRE and CRPA isolates tested for carbapenemase production and the presence of the targeted genes, 97% had concordant results; 3% of CRE and 2% of CRPA were carbapenemase production-positive but PCR-negative for those genes. Isolates harboring bla NDM showed the highest frequency of resistance across the carbapenems tested and those harboring bla IMP and bla OXA-48-like genes showed the lowest frequency of carbapenem resistance. The AR Lab Network provides a national snapshot of rare and emerging carbapenemase genes, delivering data to inform public health actions to limit the spread of these antibiotic resistance threats.

scholarly journals Stepwise evolution and convergent recombination underlie the global dissemination of carbapenemase-producingEscherichia coli

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Patiño-Navarrete ◽  
Isabelle Rosinski-Chupin ◽  
Nicolas Cabanel ◽  
Lauraine Gauthier ◽  
Julie Takissian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Evolutionary Analysis ◽  
Penicillin Binding Protein ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Stepwise Evolution ◽  
Novel Antibiotics ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractCarbapenem-resistantEnterobacteriaceaeare considered by WHO as “critical” priority pathogens for which novel antibiotics are urgently needed. The dissemination of carbapenemase-producingEscherichia coli(CP-Ec) in the community is a major public health concern. However, the global molecular epidemiology of CP-Ecisolates, as well as the genetic bases for the emergence and global dissemination of specific lineages, remain largely unknown. Here, by combining a thorough genomic and evolutionary analysis ofEcST410 isolates with a broad analysis of 12,584E. coli and Shigellagenomes, we showed that the fixation of carbapenemase genes depends largely on a combination of mutations inftsIencoding the penicillin binding protein 3 and in the porin genesompCandompF. MutatedftsIgenes and a specificompCallele inducing reduced susceptibility to diverse β-lactams spread across the species by recombination. The selection of CP-Eclineages able to disseminate is more complex than the mere acquisition of carbapenemase genes.

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