{"id":27016,"date":"2018-08-03T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-08-03T16:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicalnewsbulletin.com\/?p=27016"},"modified":"2018-07-28T22:15:16","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T02:15:16","slug":"genomics-prevent-antimicrobial-resistant-superbugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicalnewsbulletin.com\/genomics-prevent-antimicrobial-resistant-superbugs\/","title":{"rendered":"How can we use genomics to prevent antimicrobial-resistant superbugs?"},"content":{"rendered":"
One of the greatest medical discoveries of the 20th<\/sup> century was penicillin. Before the discovery of antibiotics, bacterial infections were seen as a near guarantee of death. However, penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered to combat infection and soon became the standard in medical practice which saved countless lives. As penicillin\u2019s popularity spread across the world, new generations of antibiotics were produced to gain territory in the war against microbial infections. However, the rise of antimicrobial resistance is now threatening our peaceful intermission.<\/p>\n Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of a bacterial cell to tolerate antibiotics. The stronger their resistance, the stronger their ability to tolerate antibiotics and infect the individual as normal. All antimicrobial-resistant bacteria have a threshold of antibiotic they can sustain before they are affected, but this is typically too high for safe medical doses. This makes antimicrobial resistance a serious threat to public health.<\/p>\n In recent decades, there have been outbreaks of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria which have prompted researchers to ask how these outbreaks occur and how we can better prevent them. Modern advances in whole genome sequencing have now allowed researchers to track antimicrobial-resistant evolution across the world. In a review published<\/a> in the prestigious journal Science<\/em>, researchers compiled the results of tracking key antimicrobial resistant bacteria across the globe.<\/p>\n Antimicrobial resistance emerges from two evolutionary factors: genetic mutations and environmental pressures. As bacteria divide, small random mutations appear in the genome. These mutations are usually harmless or harmful to the bacteria. However, occasionally, these mutations can be beneficial which will give them new or enhanced abilities, such as antimicrobial resistance. Since the origin of these mutations are genetic, antimicrobial resistance can be passed down to future generations of bacteria. This lineage of antimicrobial resistance is called a clone.<\/p>\n Most bacteria in the wild are a mixture of different clones, with only a small population of them being antimicrobial resistant. It is only when antibiotics are used that the ones without antimicrobial resistance die off and the ones that do survive which causes the emergence of an antimicrobial resistance infection.<\/p>\nThe emergence of antimicrobial resistance<\/h4>\n