Superbugs are various strains of bacteria that have become resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics. This resistance has stemmed from the populations overuse or misuse of unnecessary medication and it is allowing various bacteria to become unbeatable to some of today’s most potent antibiotics. An alarming statistic that was recently released, “23,000 people are killed every year out of the 2 million who are be infected by these superbugs” (NIH Feb. 2014). Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs) are currently one of the leading superbugs in the world; with a skyrocketing mortality rate and plummeting choices of antibiotics to treat the infections caused by this bacterium, the clock is ticking to find this superbug’s Achilles tendon. …show more content…
An important note about E. coli is that the ESBL-producing E. coli strain and the E. coli O157 strain, which causes food poisoning, are different because they both produce different enzymes. Among the three microorganisms listed above for being able to produce ESBL, the CDC has named E. coli as one of the top three most common nosocomial infections. K. pneumonia and K. oxytoca are also both associated with being hospital-acquired infections. The strains of K. pneumonia, K. oxytoca, and E. coli that produce ESBLs are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics, which includes penicillin, cephalosporin, and aztreonam. Penicillin is used to eliminate a wide range of bacterial infections. Cephalosporin is used to treat bacterial infections, such as respiratory tract infections, skin infections, and urinary tract infections. Aztreonam is used to treat severe bacterial infections of the urinary tract, respiratory tract, skin, stomach, female reproductive organs, and other body systems. The areas that these medications are used to treat also happen to be the areas most commonly affected by the three prominent ESBL producing microorganisms. The mechanism of resistance that the bacteria utilize is the production of an enzyme known as Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs), which enter inside the antibiotic and render it inactive. Beta-lactamases are the name of the enzymes, which enter the antibiotic. In Greece in the 1960s, TEM was the first plasmid-mediated
The TEM-1 type of Beta-lactamase is the most common -lactamase enzyme found in E. coli. More importantly, this enzyme is highly interactive with antibiotics by inhibiting antibiotics from accomplishing their purpose of: halting the synthesis of bacteria cell walls to cease the spread and existence of the bacteria. This makes TEM type
Certain E. Coli strains are also known to show resistance to bacteria killing antibiotics. This resistance is due to the plasmids, or small round DNA molecules, in the bacteria that carry the resistant genes. R Plasmids (resistance plasmids) are widely studied and bestow resistance to factors that inhibit growth of the organism. R plasmids code for proteins that can
β-lactam antibiotics (beta-lactam antibiotics) are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics, consisting of all antibiotic agents that contain a beta-lactam ring in their molecular structures. They kill bacteria by generally inhibiting their cell wall synthesis. They are mainly active against gram positive bacterias but many gram negative bacteria are also susceptible to amoxicillin. Staphylococcus aureus being a gram positive bacteria are highly susceptible to amoxillin.
There are a few antibiotics that are affected in this case which include cephalosporin and also include penicillin (Munoz-Price & Jacoby, 2015). There are a few different ESBL’s which include TEM, SHV, CTX-M, OXA, and many others (Munoz-Price & Jacoby, 2015). All of the strains will be treated slightly differently due to the different chemical makeup (Munoz-Price & Jacoby, 2015). In order to determine the presence of ESBLs, lab tests can be used such as disk diffusion and pyrosequencing ((Munoz-Price & Jacoby, 2015). Every patient has a different level of risk for becoming contaminated with ESBLs such as the differing lengths in hospital stay, as well as whether the patient has a PICC line (Munoz-Price & Jacoby, 2015). Another risk factor for the patient may be that they were previously in a nursing home (Munoz-Price & Jacoby, 2015). With the patient being elderly, the chances that they may have been in a nursing home are
Ampicillin, penicillin, streptomycin all sulphafurazole all were resistant to the bacteria as it may have grown a mutation.
A Superbug is a bacterium that can live in the human body and has the ability to withstand all forms of antibiotic medication. Superbugs are becoming increasingly significant in modern medicine as they are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics were discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming (Walsh and McManus, 2000). This resulted in a huge movement forward in medical history and even greatened human life expectancy. Since then antibiotics have been widely used and abused, people began to treat everything with this ‘miracle’ drug. If antibiotics are continually used as bacteria grows exponentially more resistant to them then eventually society will fall back into an era without the readily
President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his war speech and asserted December 7, 1941 as, “a date which will live in infamy.” The United States’ naval bases stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii were struck by Japanese planes intentionally and promptly. The news of this attack on the Pearl Harbor shocked the world. It was devastating to the nation that were still in the throes of depression. Witnesses of this event painted a portrait of a nation stunned, but determined to rise again. The United States’ government had not disclosed a Pearl Harbor story to the public--that the U.S. had failed to act on advance information about a planned Japanese attack. Japan 's move against the United States was audacious enough to be considered no more than a slight possibility, although the potential for an attack had been widely discussed.
The article “The End of Antibiotics” discusses a 57 year old man that was dying and how doctors could only sit by while his condition deteriorated. This man was not shot or stabbed, he was infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria that was slowly killing him. He died months later after being bombarded with antibiotics in the form of capsules, tablets, and IVs (Begley par.1). This is the unsettling power that superbugs like this one has over modern day medicine. A superbug is a bacteria that has evolved its cellular structure to resist antibiotics. Dr. Richard Wenzel of the University of Iowa stated, “Only a few years after penicillin came into wide use with World War II, strains of staph had emerged
In our study we selected the three cephalosporins; CAZ, CTX and FEP discs and combined with CLA for ESBL screening as the literature agreed that the use of CAZ and/or CTX alone as recommended by CLSI is not enough for detection of all ESBL isolates [30]. When combining the results of the 3 discs 100% of isolates of both ICUs were proved to be ESBL
Coli bacteria, and mix it with the plasmid. We can select the bacteria that are resistant by introducing ampicillin. Bacteria that are not resistant to ampicillin dies. The screening of the bacteria with the resistance occurs when the bla gene turns on to produce beta lactamase which will kill the antibiotic ampicillin. After this, we can get the plasmid into the bacterial cell through the process of horizontal gene transfer through transformation. This can be done by a cold treatment in an ionic solution, then a heat shock where it increases membrane fluidity to take up the plasmid into the bacteria cell. In order to know if the EPAS1-TD gene product was produced by the bacteria, we have to perform a Western Blot. We do this by extracting the protein and run it through gel electrophoresis to separate the proteins by their size. We then label the proteins with the colored probe based on their size. We can detect the EPAS1-TD gene being produced based on the colored
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 April 2015, para. 7). If your doctor has ever given, or will give you antibiotics, the misuse, the wrong dosage, and even the wrongful prescription of antibiotics, such as for a virus, can eventually contribute to making a superbug, again according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 February 2017, para. 2-5). There are already many instances of superbugs taking people’s lives. For example, just this January 2017, the CDC reported that a Washoe County resident in Reno, Nevada died in late September 2016 because she had an infection from a superbug that could not be cured by every available antibiotic in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 August 2017, para. 1-5). Posted on the Infectious Diseases Society of America website in 2007 by her mother was the story of how Rebecca Lohsen, a 17-year-old high school student and swimmer from New Jersey, died from an MRSA infection, an infection resulting from a superbug (Infectious Diseases Society of America, September 2007, para. 1). On that same website, posted by her parents, a 19-year-old college student, Meredith LittleJohn, died to a superbug after spending time in an intensive care unit in a hospital (Infectious Diseases Society of America, n.d., para. 1-3). And the list of those affected goes way on. So as we can see, superbugs are definitely a threatening and real issue that can affect almost anyone.
The incidence of neonatal septicemia caused by Gram negative bacilli (GNB) has increased in the past decade and it is often associated with higher mortality rate.(3) The emergence of multi-drug resistant among gram negative bacilli specifically Extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing GNB deserves particular concerns, as the treatment options available for multiple drug resistant (MDR) strain is often limited. Inappropriate initial antibiotics predispose these neonates to severe sepsis and poor outcome (4). Sepsis related mortality is largely preventable with prevention of sepsis, timely recognition, and rational antimicrobial therapy (5).
How do β-lactam antibiotics work to fight against gram-positive bacteria? Transpeptidases are known for being sensitive to penicillin because their activity is inhibited by beta-lactam antibiotics. Transpeptidase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transpeptidation reaction (“Transpeptidase”). Transpeptidation, the chemical reaction conversion amino acid residue or a peptide residue is transferred from one amino compound to another (“Transpeptidation”). Once penicillin binds the PBP it is resilient to many forms of detachment, but can be removed by destroying the PBP through high
The excessive and frequent use of antibiotics in medical treatment largely contributed to the development of antibiotic resistance (Sengupta, 2013). But, bacteria that have never been exposed to antibiotics also exhibit antibiotic resistance showing that it is an ancient and natural phenomenon (Bhullar et al, 2012). Antibiotic resistance can result due to intrinsic qualities of the bacteria or it can be acquired through genetic methods such as mutations or horizontal gene transfer through plasmids. Antibiotics kill susceptible bacteria but are ineffective against resistant bacteria, this creates selective pressure, which allows the resistant bacteria to grow and multiply. This leads to the development of highly resistant pathogenic
From my birth, to my first steps, to learning to ride a bike; My mom has always been there for me. She has been my biggest supporters at every sporting event, my number one fan in life. The amount of advice and life lessons I have learned from her are countless. It all started when I was 10 years old, a girl just starting middle school. With this step in my life came a boatload of new opportunities, but also responsibilities that I was not prepared for. At the time I was a bit blind, and needed somebody to help open up my eyes to the real world. I have never gotten anything in life without working at least a little bit for it. I remember when I was going into middle school and it was time for back to school shopping. My best friend had just gone to the Woodfield Mall and had an extensive shopping spree. I became jealous of her new items and wanted them for myself too, so I spent several days online shopping and compiled a list of items that I wanted, worth about the same as a new car. When my mom got home from work the following night, I presented this list to her. Thinking that this was completely reasonable, I started with my wants from Nordstrom: “Ok, so I want all nineteen of these shirts, and I need to add to my jewelry collection, so these five necklaces, and the total will only be 978 bucks!”