The world's worst super bug is on its way to Australia
'Super bug' experts say the arrival of MCR-1, bacteria untreatable by even the world's strongest antibiotics, is inevitable.
Super bugs is are drug resistant bacteria that are outsmarting the antibiotics we currently use to treat infections and Microbiologist Dr Lance Price says they are the most prominent threat to life on earth.
"We are on the cliff's edge staring down into the abyss and we have no idea how deep that abyss is," Dr Price says.
He tracks superbugs for a living and says the major concern with MCR-1, which has already been found in Europe, Asia and the US, is the ease with which it can spread.
"I would describe [super bugs] as one of the greatest threats to public health that we face today."
"When I think about superbugs and I think about drug-resistant bacteria I think about when I put my hand on a hand-rail, or when push the buttons on the elevator."
As Kerryn Harvey knows, that is all it can take to contract one of these strains of bacteria
"I'd never, never heard of these superbugs before or these different types of bacteria that can come and invade your body."
The cycling enthusiast lost her arm, shoulder and nearly her life to a devastating superbug while on a cycling holiday in South Australia three years ago.
"I got involved in a crash with another cyclist… my elbow was smashed up a bit but not broken, but I needed stitches."
But within hours of being released from hospital Kerryn was in excruciating pain and her arm was unrecognizable.
"It was almost like it was twice its size, and I had these blisters like growing down my arm and bursting like in front of my eyes. It was just horrifying really."
Most likely during her fall, Kerryn's wound was exposed to a super-bacteria that began rapidly spreading through her body.
"The bacteria had impacted not just my skin but also the underlying fascia and muscles and was already starting to eat away into my muscles."
"They tried to save my arm initially but then they realised the bacteria was still progressing and the only option was then to take the whole arm off.
Despite undergoing a complete amputation of her arm and shoulder to remove the drug resistant infection – Kerryn’s life was still in the balance.
She spent a week on life support as doctors tried to find an antibiotic that could beat the super bug in her system.
"It was a life or death situation at that point. Take the arm otherwise it would have been dead in a matter of hours.
"I was within minutes of death's door I think, yeah. Yeah."
Dr Patrick McGann, is on the front line of the fight to stop these kinds of bacteria as Chief of Molecular Research at a top security US research lab that houses the contagions.
"I think we have somewhere in the region of 45,000 bacteria in Repository right now." Dr Patrick McGann said.
"[It is] one of the most serious threats to mankind."
MCR-1 is stored in a freezer at minus-26 degrees where is has been since it made its first appearance in the US in early 2016.
"Immediately I knew the importance of it, that it hadn't been found yet in the US so first off I was like are you sure so I said to her "Are you shitting me?" Dr McGann said.
"And then I responded without even waiting for a response."
What he confirmed was how devastating MCR-1 really is, with the unique ability to latch onto bacteria and cause it to become indestructible.
"MCR1 is a gene that encodes a protein that protects the bacteria from the effects of the antibiotic. Almost like a coat of armour. Almost like growing another two or three layers of skin to make yourself more impenetrable," Dr Patrick McGann said.
Super bugs like MCR-1 develop as bacteria develops new defences against the antibiotics we use to treat illness, essentially learning and adapting to survive.
"We have to address this issue… People can't imagine how dependent they are on antibiotics, I mean the procedures that we've become used to having, you know, like hip replacements, you know, dental work, any kind of cancer treatment."
"These are all dependent on antibiotics and we're losing this tool. Can you imagine everything that we're going to lose with that? And all the lives?"
Two months ago the United Nations called the spread of antibiotic resistant superbugs a crisis and fundamental threat to global health.
In Australia, Professor John Turnidge heads a national surveillance unit that tracks outbreaks of superbugs and is preparing for the inevitable arrival of MCR-1.
"We need to be vigilant, we need to have systems to detect it early, and we need to have systems to keep it contained we see some of these, what I like to call super-superbugs, which are the ones that are resistant to our last line antibiotics," Professor John Turnidge said.
"No doubt it'll turn up in Australia eventually… we have nothing after that."
"Unfortunately we seem to have become rather addicted to antibiotics we found out that in 2014, 30 million prescriptions were filled for antibiotics in Australia."
The most important ways to prevent antibiotic resistance are:
Minimise unnecessary prescribing and overprescribing of antibiotics. This occurs when people expect doctors to prescribe antibiotics for a viral illness (antibiotics do not work against viruses) or when antibiotics are prescribed for conditions that do not require them.
Complete the entire course of any prescribed antibiotic so that it can be fully effective and not breed resistance.
Practise good hygiene and use appropriate infection control procedures.
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BetterHealth: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria
