. . . June
---------------------------------------------
Seagulls Carrying And Spreading Highly Drug-Resistant Superbug Bacteria:
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD Copyright: Medical News
Scientists in Portugal have discovered that a species of seagull that feeds on human rubbish is carrying and spreading highly drug-resistant superbug bacteria.
You can read how lead researcher Dr Gilberto Igrejas, from the University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, and colleagues, make their discovery in the 21 September issue of the journal Proteome Science
In their background information, Igrejas and colleagues explained that Enterococci bacteria are now the third most common cause of infections in hospital settings, requiring antibiotic therapy.
A growing problem in such settings is resistance to the "last resort" antibiotic vancomycin which is normally only used when other drugs have failed, and while studies have shown that resistance is emerging in farm animals, few have looked at the extent of the problem in wild animals, said the researchers.
To investigate the problem they decided to look at a particular population of wild animals: a type of Herring Gull known as the Larus Cachinnans seagull.
These large, loud, white and grey seagulls with distinctive yellow legs are often seen scavanging around rubbish tips in the south of the UK.
For the study, the researchers collected and analysed 57 samples of feces dropped by Larus Cachinnans seagulls on an island off the Portuguese coast that is part of the Berlengas Nature Reserve.
They found that one in ten of the samples carried bacteria that showed signs of having developed resistance to vancomycin. They also found signs of resistance to other antibiotics.
Read Entire Article . .
