Superbugs are a growing public health concern in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant infections each year, 23,000 of who will die as a result. Now, scientists worry seagulls, a wild bird that has an “enormous migratory reach,” could make matters worse.
The authors of a new study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy have found a highly drug-resistant form of Escherichia coli in bird droppings they sampled in Lithuania and Argentina. This form of E. coli is marked by the mcr-1 gene, which is what makes it resistant to the powerful, “last-resort antibiotic” called colistin. Study authors believe that the seagulls picked up the superbug after eating sewage or medical waste.
