Drug-resistant 'super bacteria' transmitted to travelers between countries
A study published this week in the scientific journal Genome Medicine warns that drug-resistant "super bacteria" are being passed on to travelers between countries.
American and Dutch researchers conducted a study on the effects of travel between countries on the bacteria in the human stomach, by analyzing the stools of 190 Dutch travelers before and after they visited regions in Africa or Asia.
Tests carried out after travelers return have shown a "large amount" of antimicrobial resistance genes, with commonly used antibiotics losing their efficacy.
The researchers also found that a third of the participants who traveled to Southeast Asia had an antibiotic resistance gene used as a "last resort", for example, to treat pneumonia or meningitis.
"These results clearly show that international travel can cause the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the world," said study co-author Alaric D'Souza.
This resistance arises naturally over thousands of years under normal conditions due to exposure of bacteria to natural antibiotics.
But the increasing use of antibiotics by humans has hastened the process.
The study warned that this trend threatens 70 years of progress in treating infectious diseases.
The researchers noted that the resistance genes differed depending on the places the travelers visited.
They were particularly concerned about travelers returning from Southeast Asia with the ECR-1 gene against colistin, a "last resort" antibiotic used when other drugs no longer work.
Alaric D'Souza stressed the need to "address antimicrobial resistance in low-income countries with high rates of resistance and low public health budgets."
He concluded, "This international approach will not only help the countries involved, but may also benefit other countries by limiting the international spread of resistance genes."
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news