Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Researchers have recently uncovered more evidence of an increased trend toward antibiotic resistance by Staphylococcus aureus infections, this time in infections in children. As you may know, staph is a nasty little bacterium that can lead to severe skin lesions. According to the report, the percentage of staph infections that were resistant to methycillin, the antibiotic most commonly used against staph, rose from 11.8% in 2001 to 28.1% in 2006.

Health workers worry that someday our current antibiotics just won’t be very effective any more. For more on this topic, see (See “The Growing Threat of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria” in Human Biology 5th ed., p. 18).

REFERENCE: Naseri, I., et. al. Nationwide Trends in Pediatric Staphylococcus aureus Head and Neck Infections. Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 135:14-16, 2009.