Bacteria Can Evolve Resistance to Drugs Before Those Drugs Are Used
A new study turns the history of MRSA on its head.
By Ed Yong - The Atlantic - October 30, 2017
Excerpts:
. . . They sequenced the DNA of 209 MRSA samples that were collected between 1960 and 1989, including the earliest resistant strains ever identified. . . .
. . . So bacteria can begin evolving resistance to antibiotics that they haven’t even encountered yet. . . .
. . . We might be able to predict some of these unintended consequences by routinely sequencing the DNA of wild bacteria, identifying the resistance genes that are already out there.
“However, this will be difficult because it is not currently possible to confidently predict resistance from genome-sequence data alone,” says Jessica Blair from the University of Birmingham.
“We can only detect resistance mechanisms we already know about.”
Several years ago, actually for two years in a row they had a live web feed for many of the sessions. While that did not work out to continue, afterward, there will be DVDs produced for most sessions for sale.
Many lyme support groups may purchase some of these to share among members, etc.
Often there will be short video segments to view on the web . . . and papers we might be able to read. -
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