Drug resistant "superbug" gene found on pig farm

Researchers from Ohio State University have made a troubling discovery at a pig farm in the United States. They found a bacteria that is resistant to an important class of antibiotics used — sparingly — in humans.  

These antibiotics, known as carbapenems, are considered a last resort against deadly, drug-resistant infections often found in hospitals. 

CBC Links: 

• Antibiotic-resistant superbugs in spotlight at high-level UN meeting
• Ontario scientist thinks old drugs could become our new antibiotics
• Quirks & Quarks 2014 panel discussion: "Beyond Antibiotics"

So what does finding resistance to this class of antibiotics on a livestock farm mean?  And what impact could it have,  given that antibiotics are meeting more resistance in humans? Researcher Dr. Thomas Wittum discusses the implications of these findings. 

Are there antibiotic alternatives on the horizon? Dr. Lori Burrows from McMaster University talks to Bob McDonald about the critical research that's happening at university campuses.

Additional Links:

• How Drug-Resistant Bacteria Travel from the Farm to Your Table
• Dark New Comic Book Explores a World Without Antibiotics
• Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae recovered from the environment of a swine farrow-to-finish operation in the United States