MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US highly antibiotic resistant bacteria detected in Colombia

Two clones of highly antibiotic-resistant organism strains, which previously had only been identified in the United States, have now been detected in several Colombian cities, say researchers at The University of Texas Medical School.

The study, done in collaboration with Colombian researchers, is published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine released this week. US clones of community associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VREF) have emerged in communities across Colombia. The variation of the MRSA clone, referred to as the USA 300, has been previously reported to be the most important cause of severe skin and soft tissue infections in the United States. The VREF clone is genetically related to a strain that hit a Houston hospital in 1994. In Colombia before 2005, there were no recorded cases of any community-associated MRSA infections, including USA 300 MRSA. In 2005, there were two: one in Bogotá and one in the city of Villavicencio. Now the number of MRSA infections is climbing across the country. The paper reports a total of 15 infections, some of which were documented in two additional cities between 2006 and 2007. USA 300 MRSA has also been recorded in multiple patients in Ecuador and Venezuela. The first case of VREF was reported in Bogotá in 2001. Since then, 50 additional cases have been identified at seven hospitals. "The goal is to find out why and how these organisms got there. With this information, researchers hope to better understand the molecular epidemiology of these super bugs to understand how they spread and how to control them," said Cesar Arias from UT medical school. All patients diagnosed with community-associated MRSA infections suffered severe skin and soft-tissue infections. Some patients also experienced death of tissue surrounding bones, bacteria in the bloodstream and meningitis, and 20% percent of the patients died. MRSA infections were treatable with common antistaphylococcal antibiotics, although 40% were resistant to tetracycline.