ST313 bacterium

Salmonella is a drug resistant strain of bacteria gains in Africa. The drug resistant has emerged a high death rate in the last decade in Africa and it’s been causing unusual number of death.

Deadly Agent: the drug resistant ST313 bacterium (in red)

The drug’s resistance genome was decoded by researchers from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and researchers in Kenya and Malawi.

Most salmonella bacteria cause diarrhea and are rarely fatal, this one cause’s death in 1 of 2 cases among children and vulnerable adults in some African regions. Many of the victims have been weakened by AIDS, anemia, malaria or malnutrition.

Salmonella circulates in animals and humans through food poisoning. After sequencing the bacterial DNA found in about 50 Africans suspected of infection, researchers said that ST313 strain appeared to be mutating to circulate in humans independently of animals.

Dr. Chisomo Msefula says ST313 “has rapidly gained resistance to many of the commonly used antibiotics in the field.” The author of this article said that “poor countries needed greater access to sophisticated genetic sequencing machines that could spot tiny DNA mutations like the ones making this germ so fatal.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/health/01glob.html?ref=africa