The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported the fourth human case of an antibiotic-resistant superbug. The latest case was found in a 2-year-old in Connecticut, who may have contracted the superbug during a trip to the Caribbean in June. The child had a strain of E. coli that contained the gene mcr-1, which scientists have found to be resistant to the antibioitic colistin, which is the treatment administered as a last resort when patients aren't responding to other antibiotics.
Luckily, the girl's case proved treatable with drugs other than colistin, and health experts do not believe the germs were passed along to anyone else. Still, the case is alarming for health experts who have been carefully tracking the gene; if the gene spreads to other bacteria, scientists believe that it could eventually morph into a superbug invincible to all known antibiotics.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My LifeFeature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheressFeature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
A happy gut is a healthy gut. These 5 tips aim to help you achieve that goal.The Week Recommends A healthy gut is all the rage in wellness circles
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
Fly like a breeze with these 5 tips to help cope with air travel anxietyThe Week Recommends You can soothe your nervousness about flying before boarding the plane
-
RFK Jr.'s focus on autism draws the ire of researchersIn the Spotlight Many of Kennedy's assertions have been condemned by experts and advocates
-
Full-body scans: are Neko Health and the like more panic than panacea?The Explainer Hailed as the 'future of medicine' by some, but not all experts are convinced
