Drugs/Therapy

Researchers Discover Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In Food Products For The First Time

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Jun 15, 2014 03:04 PM EDT

Researchers have reportedly found the first instance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Pseudomonas in a squid sold at a Chinese grocery store in Saskatoon. 

Researchers reported their findings to the CDC in the United States, who promptly issued a warning letter about the find in an open-access journal. 

Apparently, antibiotics that physicians use to treat bacterial infections are becoming less potent  as bacterias continue to develop resistance to them. 

Currently, the medical community uses standard antibiotics along with what are known as last-resort antibiotics, they're called carbapenems-our last line of defense against many types of resistant bacteria, the press release added. 

However, some types of bacteria have already developed a resistance to some kinds of carbapenems by producing carbapenemases-enzymes that render carbapenems ineffective. Researchers added that the Pseudomonas found in the squid in Canada is one such bacterial example. These are also the first known instance of such a type of bacteria occurring in a food product. 

Pseudomonas isn't a bad kind of bacteria, per se, it's what it represents that has the antibacterial community concerned. All by itself it likely wouldn't make anyone sick-but, if ingested, it would mix with other bacteria in the human gut which could lead to very serious problems-E. coli, for example that has the same resistance capabilities, the press release added. 

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