Origins of Drug-Resistant Superbug Weren't What We Thought, Surprise Discovery..

[SVPete]

Origins of Drug-Resistant Superbug Weren't What We Thought, Surprise Discovery Shows

https://www.sciencealert.com/origins-of-drug-resistant-superbug-weren-t-what-we-thought-surprise-discovery-shows

An evolutionary battle between fungi and bacteria on hedgehogs' skin gave rise to a type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria long before humans started using the antibiotics that were thought to lead to such superbugs, a new study reveals.

Researchers traced some lineages of the superbug MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, to a parasitic fungus found on the skin of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus).

The fungus secretes antibiotics to fight and kill Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (also found on hedgehogs); to stay alive, the bacteria, in turn, evolved antibiotic resistance that later crossed into livestock and humans, the research team reported in a new study.

While the use of antibiotics often drives the evolution of superbugs, this study shows the origins of some antibiotic-resistant bacteria in nature.

But ... but ... settled science!!!

[Drafe Hoblin]

Doctors overprescribed MRSA-killing antibiotics.  That's what my doctor said back in the Spring of 2012.  They were being prescribed for 'everything'... which allowed MRSA's natural characteristics to continue evolving and become resistant.  Lazy medical procedures.  The same thinking that led to the overprescribing of opioids.