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Mutant Version of E. Coli Found in British Herd

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

A new version of E. coli 026 that is resistant to families of antibiotics, including penicillins, has been found on a British dairy farm for the first time.

The emergence of the so-called superbug, announced this week in minutes of a meeting of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, is thought by some to be related to heavy use of antibiotics on farms. 

Lancashire-based Farmers Guardian magazine said government vets found 19 of 20 calves and three of 40 cows on the farm positive for a type of E. coli 026 that is resistant to common antibiotics.

The finding isn't considered an immediate public health risk, but officials have instructed the family that operates the farm on methods to protect themselves against infection. The long-range concern is that such mutant strains of E. coli could cause food poisoning in humans that couldn't be treated with antibiotics.

The Soil Association, a British lobby group that promotes organic farming, said farmers and veterinarians need to reign in the use of antibiotics. The government should provide specific recommendations to limit the drugs, the group said. The association claims that heavy use of antibiotics has prompted E. coli bacteria to start mutating to ensure their own survival.

Other strains of E. coli that are resistant to common antibiotics have been found on 57 other farms in the United Kingdom, Farmers Guardian reported. But the latest case is the first resistant strain that has the potential to cause life-threatening foodborne infections in humans, the magazine said.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on November 19, 2008 (boomark / email).