[red]When reading this, keep in mind that (1) fluoroquinolones are an absolutely critical antibiotic -- they are one of exactly three classes of antibiotics that can treat several types of infections, and (2) one reason for the increasing resistance is that Bayer AG insists on dumping the damn things into as much chicken feed as it possibly can, to make a tiny amount of additional profit, despite strong recommendations that the use of fluoroquinolones in animal feed be halted precisely because it is causing resistance to develop.[/red]
[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020520/hl_nm/cipro_resistance_1[/url]
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters Health) - Resistance to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin has shown an "alarming" increase among patients at one of the western United States' largest rehabilitation facilities, a study released Monday shows.
From 1997 to 2001, resistance to Cipro among E. coli bacteria samples taken from spinal cord injury patients rose from 13% to 33%, Dr. Hanna Canawati and Donald Dunn of the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California, found.
While resistance to Cipro and other drugs in its class, known as fluoroquinolones, was seen in Europe, China and parts of South America beginning in 1990, the researchers note, it remained uncommon in the US through the mid-1990s. And similar sharp increases in Cipro resistance have not been seen elsewhere in Los Angeles County.
... more at the URL ...
[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020520/hl_nm/cipro_resistance_1[/url]