So what it says is that the environment is now loaded with resistant bacteria. That s not the simple consequence of a single organism happening to be resistant. That means that there s been a whole change in our ecology. The change occurred because one bacteria like VRE can transfer its resistance to another strain by sharing genetic information. Alan Proctor is head of infection disease research for the drug manufacturer, Pfizer, Incorporated.
Bacteria are very promiscuous.
They exchange genes one amongst the other, and these genes eventually get transferred around to other bacteria. The potential consequences are troubling. For example, in some parts of the country, the organism that causes most common ear infections has become resistant. The risk of the bacteria migrating to the brain and causing potentially fatal meningitis is now markedly greater. The medical community fears that the organism will soon be completely immune to antibiotics and that it will spread across the country.