The Dawn of the Domestic Superbug

Link: RedNova News - Science - The Dawn of the Domestic Superbug

Studies from Japan suggest a strong link between caMRSA and the use of antibacterial cleaning solutions. When investigators there looked at the generational effects of exposure to the common antibacterial agent benzalkonium chloride (used in household cleaners and certain toiletries) in caMRSA strains, they found that as each new generation of bacteria evolved its resistance to the antibacterial grew stronger - as did its resistance to common antibiotics like methicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics. As resistance grows the minimum amount of antibacterial and antibiotic needed to kill bacteria also grows, in some cases dramatically. In another Japanese study, the concentration of the antibiotic oxacillin necessary to inhibit the growth of third- generation benzalkonium chloride-resistant caMRSA organisms was 32 times greater than first-generation resistant varieties.