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New superbug hits the US

Posted at 11:13 AM, May 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-28 11:13:34-04

A common treatment to any bacterial infection for the last 75 years may soon become obsolete. A bacterial infection resistant to the antibiotic of last resort has been found in the US. It's the latest example of a superbug.

"Superbugs in general are bacteria that have become resistant to several lines of antibiotics," says Linda Vail, the Ingham County Health Officer.

This superbug, which was found in a woman in Pennsylvania, is the first bacteria to resist Colistin, an antibiotic that's only used when nothing else works. It's not uncurable yet... but experts think it eventually will be.

That doesn't mean it's time to panic, though. Bacteria have been resisting antibiotics since penicillin was discovered almost a century ago. But it's important to change how we currently use antibiotics to combat superbugs.

"Hopefully we're not going to see more and more superbugs," says Vail. "Because hopefully we're learning the lesson that we need to be careful about antibiotic therapy and antibiotic prescriptions so that we don't continue to create a lot of resistance issues that then give us a problem."

Resistance could eventually mean once-mild infections that come from cuts and scrapes could be deadly. But experts say as long as those cuts and scrapes are treated quickly, infections (and then superbugs), shouldn't be a big threat to an everyday person.

They say parents or schools who deal with a lot of small cuts shouldn't let the threat stop them from their activities.

"Kids of all ages are going to fall down, get scrapes and different things of that nature," says Richard Perkins, who was on a field trip with the Capital City Baptist School. "It's not going to change anything on whether we come here or not, you know we're still going to get the kids out and be able to do different activities with them."

The lesson to take away is to use antibiotics sparingly. Be sure to use the prescriptions you're given all the way through; don't just stop because you're feeling better. And trust your doctor's judgement and follow their instructions with prescriptions.