Colistin | German Center for Infection Research

Short description

Colistin is an antibiotic of last resort.

Detailed description

It is mainly applied in veterinary medicine. In humans, it is used to treat infections with gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to all other antibiotics. A bacterial gene conveying resistance to colistin, mcr1, was detected in China in 2015. DZIF scientists have then also detected this gene in Germany. The resistance can be passed down from one bacterium to another.

Rapid test detects mobile resistance gene mcr-1

Colistin is used as the “last-resort antibiotic” for dreaded multidrug-resistant pathogens, especially in hospitals. However, gut bacteria that have become insensitive to colistin now exist—owing to

Multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae shown in a petri dish

European survey on antibiotic resistance in hospitals

An international team of scientists and clinicians have, for the first time, examined the spread of particularly dreaded multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae throughout Europe and collected

Multi-resistant E. coli bacteria in a petri dish

Dangerous and “jumping” mcr-1 resistance gene

The mcr-1 gene makes gut bacteria insensitive to the last-resort antibiotic colistin. Especially in hospitals, colistin is used as a last treatment option for infections with dreaded multidrug

Multidrug-resistant bacteria on an agar plate

When antibiotics fail: New antibiotic resistance gene has also been found in Germany

Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the University of Giessen have shown that the gene for resistance to colistin, which was recently discovered in China, also exists

Feb 2018

Int J Antimicrob Agents