--- title: Here's Why Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Spread Globally description: Common bacteria could be on the verge of becoming antibiotic-resistant super bugs, according to a new study. canonical: https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-26T07:06:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:27:21.220Z article:section: Science og:title: Here's Why Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Spread Globally og:description: Drug-resistance can easily be shared between a family of bacteria, study finds. og:url: https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta90141f9538f8af6/69878555f887dcb6cee8acb5/ecoli-drug-resistance.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Escherichia coli bacteria by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Spread Globally twitter:description: Drug-resistance can easily be shared between a family of bacteria, study finds. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta90141f9538f8af6/69878555f887dcb6cee8acb5/ecoli-drug-resistance.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Spread Globally ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_ by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Mar 26, 2015 7:06 AM UTC  Escherichia coli bacteria by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Escherichia coli bacteria by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Scimat Scimat—Photo Researchers RM/Getty Images by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Mar 26, 2015 7:06 AM UTC Common bacteria could be on the verge of [becoming](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150325210513.htm) antibiotic-resistant super bugs, according to a new study. Resistance to antibiotics is in danger of spreading globally among the type of bacteria that’s associated with causing infections in hospitals, reports the Science Daily. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that two genes that help build up this resistance to a particularly strong class of antibiotics called carbapenems can be shared fairly easily between a family of bacteria. “Carbapenems are one of our last resorts for treating bacterial infections, what we use when nothing else works,” said senior author Gautam Dantas. The study was based on incidents at two Los Angeles hospitals where several patients became infected with drug-resistant bacteria that had contaminated medical equipment. Researchers studied a family of bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae. While not all of these bacteria cause illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae as one of the three most urgent threats among emerging forms of antibiotic-resistant disease. The team compared the genomes of carbapenems-resistant bacteria that had been isolated in the U.S. to those from bacteria isolated in Pakistan, expecting them to be genetically different. But what they found was the two resistant genes could be shared easily between bacteria from the two geographic regions. “Our findings also suggest it’s going to get easier for strains of these bacteria that are not yet resistant to pick up a gene that lets them survive carbapenem treatment,” Dantas said. As drug-resistant forms of Enterobacteriaceae become more widespread, he adds, “the odds will increase that we’ll pass one of these superbugs on to a friend with a weakened immune system who can really be hurt by them.” \[[_Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150325210513.htm)\] _Read next:_ [_Study Links Widely Used Pesticides to Antibiotic Resistance_](http://time.com/3756870/pesticides-antibiotic-resistance/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/"},"headline":"Here's Why Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Spread Globally","datePublished":"2015-03-26T07:06:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:27:21.220Z","description":"Two genes responsible for building up drug-resistance can easily be shared between a family of bacteria","url":"https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/","keywords":["Research","Science topic","Bacteria","antibiotics","drug resistance","superbugs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta90141f9538f8af6/69878555f887dcb6cee8acb5/ecoli-drug-resistance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta90141f9538f8af6/69878555f887dcb6cee8acb5/ecoli-drug-resistance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Escherichia coli bacteria by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).","caption":"Escherichia coli bacteria by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).","creditText":"Scimat Scimat—Photo Researchers RM/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/","name":"Here's Why Drug-Resistant Bacteria Could Spread Globally"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk","description":"TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ai82XWJ8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-24T20:18:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3759400/drug-resistant-bacteria-hospital-infections-antibiotics-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```