Bacteria gene in China resists all antibiotics
"These are extremely worrying results," said Liu Jian-Hua, a professor at China's Southern Agricultural University and co-author of a new study.
Liu and his colleagues found a gene, called MCR-1, that allows bacteria to becomeresistant to a class of antibiotics known as polymyxins, which are used to fightsuperbugs.
The gene, which was detected in common but deadly bacteria such as E. Coli and K. Pneumoniae -- the cause of pneumonia and blood diseases -- effectively makesbacteria invincible.
Most worryingly of all, the gene is easily spread from one strain to another, said thestudy, which was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, promptingwarnings they could have "epidemic potential".