A study has found that more than half of pet dogs are infected with antibiotic-resistant superbugs that can be transmitted to humans. The study was published in the journal PLoS ONE.
Researchers took 185 fecal samples from dogs that confirmed cases of diarrhea over a one-year period. Dogs that received any antimicrobial medication in the past three months were excluded from the analysis. Biologists tested the sensitivity of E. coli in the samples to 16 different antibiotics. Between 59 and 76% of stool samples contained bacteria resistant to the entire drug class.
Specifically, microbes in 59% of samples were resistant to sulfonamides, 64% to tetracyclines, and 76% to beta-lactams. These are the three classes of most commonly used antibiotics.
The resistance of E. coli to antibiotics is due in part to an accelerated form of evolution, that is, the survival of individuals least susceptible to antibiotics. They can also exchange genetic material without reproducing.
E. coli is normally found in the bodies of both dogs and humans. However, its overgrowth can lead to diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and in rare cases, kidney failure and death.
The authors concluded that drug-resistant superbugs likely spread due to the widespread use of antibiotics in agriculture and medicine. They called for greater efforts to combat resistant bacteria, otherwise humanity could return to a time when a simple surgery or scratch could become a life-threatening problem.
Russian scientists before to create There are antibiotic-producing bacteria in Tibetan lakes.