New findings have revealed how antibiotic treatment can influence the gut bacteria in mice, and build up antibiotic resistance.
The researchers in Luxembourg administrated a number of antibiotics to mice and were able to identify which bacteria in the gut microbiome became resistant and how even after a single antibiotic dose, these bacteria developed antimicrobial resistance genes.
The research was conducted by scientists at EARA member, the Luxembourg Center for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), the Department of Life Sciences and the Molecular Disease Mechanisms group at the University of Luxembourg.
"It means a single treatment may already be enough to drive change within the microbial community and to lead to the acquisition of new resistance genes by some of the bacteria.", explained Dr. Susheel Bhanu Busi, of LCSB.
Antibiotic resistance, which develops after an overuse of antibiotics, is considered to be a major global healthcare threat.
“The current trend is clearly not downwards, with COVID-19 further fuelling the issue of antimicrobial resistance, leaving us on the course of 10 million deaths per year by 2050,” details Prof. Paul Wilmes, of LCSB.
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