Antibioticaresistentie: gaat het nu echt mis?

In November 2015, plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Gram-negative bacteria was reported for the first time, and it was evident that this newly-identified resistance gene (mcr-1) was already prevalent in the animal and human reservoir in China. As well as massive media attention, there was also a massive scientific response. As of 22 January 2016, the interpretation of all the evidence is that the mcr-1 was already in existence in 2005 and is not bound to a single plasmid. Its presence has now been demonstrated on four continents and the gene seems widely prevalent in animal reservoirs across the globe, with a very low prevalence in collections of human isolates. Based on current findings there seems to be no reason to change clinical practices for Dutch patients.