Colistin
Q. Colistin is- Published on 18 Apr 16a. New kind of bacteria
b. Antibiotic
c. A new pollutant
d. Chemical to clear oil spills
ANSWER: Antibiotic
- The gene MCR-1’s resistance to colistin, a life-saving medication which has been around for 60 years, is the latest frustration for physicians battling disease with a shrinking arsenal of antibiotics to treat a wide variety of ailments, many once easily curable.
- Colistin has been available since 1959 in order to treat infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria — a category including the food-poisoning germs E-coli and Salmonella, as well as Acinetobacter which can cause pneumonia or serious blood and wound infections.
- It was abandoned for human use in the 1980s due to high kidney toxicity, but is widely used in livestock farming, especially in China.
- As bacteria have started to develop resistance to other, more modern drugs, colistin had to be brought back as a treatment of last resort in hospitals and clinics.
- Now resistance to that too is becoming a problem.
