DANGEROUS GENE FOUND IN GEORGIA WATER: Scientists have found a gene that has been declared one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity while testing bacteria in Georgia sewer water.
, assistant professor Issmat Kassem's team found evidence of the gene in the very first sample they took during their tests.
Due to the nature of the gene, it's nearly impossible to control its spread via travel without expensive and intrusive examination or restrictions. Illustration of E. coli bacteria. E. coli bacteria carrying the mcr -1 gene was found in a urine sample from a patient in Pennsylvania in May 2016. The MCR gene can be transmitted from one type of bacteria to another, meaning that harmful bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella could possibly carry it and become potentially deadly.
The United States has banned the use of colistin in food animals to try to slow the spread of the resistance, but it is still used in countries like China and India for their livestock.