E. coli Bacteria More Likely to Develop Resistance after Exposure to Low Levels of Antibiotics

June 14, 2011 - PRLog -- New Rochelle, NY—E. coli bacteria exposed to three common antibiotics were more likely to develop antibiotic resistance following low-level antibiotic exposure than after exposure to high concentrations that would kill the bacteria or inhibit their growth, according to a timely article in Microbial Drug Resistance, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online at http://www.liebertpub.com/mdr

E. coli bacteria in food and water supplies have been responsible for disease outbreaks and deaths around the world in recent years. The current outbreak in Europe has sickened thousands of individuals and caused multiple deaths and life-threatening complications in hundreds of persons infected with a new strain of E. coli.

Bacterial resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics is an enormous and growing problem, largely due to misuse of antibiotics to treat non-bacterial infections and environmental exposure of the bacteria to low levels of antibiotics used, for example, in agriculture. In the article “De Novo Acquisition of Resistance to Three Antibiotics by Escherichia coli," the authors studied the mechanisms by which E. coli acquire resistance to three common antibiotics: amoxicillin, tetracycline, and enrofloxacin. Depending on the antibiotic and the level of exposure, different mechanisms may come into play. The authors report that exposure to antibiotics at relatively low levels--below those needed to inhibit growth of the bacteria--are more likely to result in the development of antibiotic resistance. “Exposure to low levels of antibiotics therefore clearly poses most risk,” a finding that “contradicts one of the main assumptions made questioning the threat of usage of antibiotics in food animals,” conclude the authors.

Microbial Drug Resistance is an authoritative peer-reviewed international journal published quarterly in print and online that covers the growing threat and global spread of antibiotic resistant microbial pathogens and resistance genes. Led by Editor-in-Chief Alexander Tomasz, PhD, The Rockefeller University (New York, NY), the Journal covers topics that include the molecular biology of resistance mechanisms, virulence genes, and disease, as well as molecular epidemiology, drug design, infection control, and medical practice. Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed online at http://www.liebertpub.com/mdr

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, Surgical Infections, and Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.    140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Phone: (914) 740-2100    (800) M-LIEBERT    Fax:  (914) 740-2101
www.liebertpub.com

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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, Surgical Infections, and Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com