(The Guardian) – ‘Surprising’ finding by Australian-led study is first recorded instance of an antibiotic causing resistance to one in a different class

The rise of an almost untreatable superbug has been linked to a common antibiotic, an Australian-led study has found. The study – published in Nature – found that rifaximin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat liver disease, causes resistance to another antibiotic, daptomycin.

Daptomycin is one of the few drugs that is effective against vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), a contagious bacterial infection that can cause serious reactions in hospitalised patients. (Read More)