Antibiotic-resistant genes are everywhere, it seems

Researchers say they found antibiotic-resistant genes in all 71 areas they checked around the world. The results “add to evidence showing just how common and abundant those resistance genes really are in natural environments,” says Cell Press. Most antibiotics used in medicine are isolated from soil micro-organisms so there are ample sources for bacteria to pick up resistant genes. Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are a growing public health issue.

“It is only with more knowledge on antibiotic resistance dissemination – from the environment to pathogens in the clinic and leading to antibiotic treatment failure rates – that we will be able to produce more sustainable antibiotic drugs,” said Joseph Nesme of the Université de Lyon in France, one of the researchers.

The read the study, “Large-scale metagenomic-based study of antibiotic resistance in the environment,” in Current Biology, click here.

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