--- title: Superbug Resistant to Last-Resort Antibiotic Hits US description: The US now has its first case of a bacteria that cannot be treated with an end-of-the-line antibiotic canonical: https://time.com/4350585/superbug-cant-be-treated-with-antibiotics/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-27T15:13:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:53:50.675Z article:section: Health og:title: A New Drug-Resistant Superbug Hits U.S. For the First Time og:description: Thankfully, the woman is OK og:url: https://time.com/4350585/superbug-cant-be-treated-with-antibiotics/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bca54f7adde6be4/6988955bab6d77626c6a9dfd/gettyimages-177167943.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: Multi-resistant coliform bacteria og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A New Drug-Resistant Superbug Hits U.S. For the First Time twitter:description: Thankfully, the woman is OK twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bca54f7adde6be4/6988955bab6d77626c6a9dfd/gettyimages-177167943.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Superbug Resistant to Last-Resort Drugs Hits U.S. > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 27, 2016 3:13 PM UTC  Colonies of a multi-resistant coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli) isolated from a patient with urinary tract infection. Colonies of a multi-resistant coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli) isolated from a patient with urinary tract infection. R Parulan Jr.—Getty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 27, 2016 3:13 PM UTC Public health experts have been warning for years that bacteria are starting to gain on us. More strains of the microbes that are resistant to antibiotics are emerging around the world as people continue to overuse the drugs to treat human infections as well as [over-expose animals in agriculture](http://time.com/2825/new-report-claims-fda-allowed-high-risk-antibiotics-to-be-used-on-farm-animals/) in order to keep infections under control. Now officials report that a 48-year-old Pennsylvania woman with a urinary tract infection has been infected with a bacteria that could not be treated with colistin, which doctors usually reserve as a last resort treatment if other antibiotic classes don’t work. Colistin-resistant strains [have also been found among cattle and in meat sold for human consumption](http://time.com/4120064/mutation-bacteria-drug-resistant/). **MORE:** [A Blood Test May Soon Tell If You Really Need Antibiotics](http://time.com/4186864/blood-test-antibiotics/) Fortunately, the E. coli in the woman’s case was vulnerable to other classes of antibiotics, so she recovered. So far, doctors have not reported a bacterial strain that is simultaneously resistant to every single antibiotic class currently available. But that strain could be lurking and ready to emerge at any time as current antibiotic use pushes the microbes to develop mutations that help it to become resistant. **MORE:** [Too Many Antibiotics May Make Children Heavier](http://time.com/4082242/antibiotics-obesity/) The appearance of the colistin-resistant strain is concerning because it means that bacteria have already figured out a way to combat the drug; that means more strains could pick up the resistance in coming years. The hope at this point is that the colistin resistance does not merge with resistance to other antibiotics. That would create a superbug that can’t be treated with _any_ drugs now available. **MORE:** [There’s Yet Another Downside To Overusing Antibiotics](http://time.com/3967873/antibiotic-resistant-bugs/) That’s just a matter of time, public health experts say; they are urging doctors and policy makers to take action as current antibiotic drugs near the end of their effectiveness. Congress has provided $150 million to state and local public health departments to monitor cases such as this woman’s infection, but that’s just a stop gap measure. Drug companies are also [working on new classes of antibiotics](http://time.com/3560432/alternative-drug-replace-antibiotics/) that bypass the way bacteria can develop resistance, but so far no promising agents are ready for testing. In the meantime, doctors say the best way to combat resistance is to limit use of antibiotics, especially in agriculture, and to ensure that the medications are only used when necessary to treat human infections. 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