A new gene that makes bacteria highly resistant to a last-resort class of antibiotics has been found in people and pigs in China — including in samples of bacteria with epidemic potential, researchers said this week.
The discovery was described as "alarming" by scientists, who called for urgent restrictions on the use of polymyxins — a class of antibiotics that includes the drug colistin and is widely used in livestock farming.
"All use of polymyxins must be minimized as soon as possible and all unnecessary use stopped," said Laura Piddock, a professor of microbiology at Britain's Birmingham University who was asked to comment on the finding.