Medical World News

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Rare antibiotic-resistant genes found in bacteria across 27 states

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has discovered more than 200 rare antibiotic-resistant genes in bacteria from hospitals and medical centers in the United States.

In a study issued last week, the CDC reported the genes were found in 27 states.

As part of the testing, the CDC reviewed more than 5,000 isolated strains of bacteria. It found one in four of the strains had a gene that would spread antibiotic resistance and 221 “especially rare resistance genes.”

Health officials have monitored changes and mutations in antibiotic-resistant bacteria since first learning about it in 1988, and the presence of varying strains of these germs in medical facilities around the world has grown since then.

This was the first year the CDC tested for rare genes, so the agency does not have trend data.[CNN]

Why it matters: Each year, 2 million Americans get antibiotic-resistant infections and about 23,000 die as a result. Global overuse of antibiotics has become an issue for health care professionals fighting these resistant bacteria. Antibiotic use has more than doubled worldwide since 2000, and immoderate antibiotic prescription and consumption has led to increasingly dangerous resistant infections.

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