UK agency wants checks on drug-resistant E. coli
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Britain’s Health Protection Agency said on Monday it wants better monitoring of drug-resistant strains of E. coli bacteria, which have spread rapidly in England and Northern Ireland in the last two years.
E. coli are common bacteria which normally live harmlessly in the gut, but can also cause urinary tract infections and blood poisoning and can be potentially deadly.
The new strains produce an enzyme called extended-spectrum beta lactamase that makes them more resistant to antibiotics and consequently harder to treat.
“Many of the infections have been in elderly people who are already sick with other underlying medical conditions,” said Georgia Duckworth of the HPA’s Centre for Infections.
“It mainly occurs in those who have been taking antibiotics or who have been previously hospitalised.”
The HPA says there is evidence that the new strains are carried in faecal matter, indicating it may be spreading via the food chain because of inadequate hygiene.
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