-Link- The new strain is called ST131 and caused many of the E. coli infections resistant to antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone and cephalosporin classes, the researchers said.
"If this strain gains one additional resistance gene, it will become almost untreatable and will be a true superbug, which is a very concerning scenario," Dr. James Johnson of the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, who led the study, said in a statement.
Writing in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, Johnson and colleagues said the ST131 strain has been reported in several countries and across the United States.
Scientists aren't yet sure of the source of the ST131 strain of E. coli, or how it's transmitted, Johnson said.
"If we could discover the sources of this strain, the transmission pathways that allow it to spread so effectively, and the factors that have led to its rapid emergence, we could find ways to intervene and possibly slow or halt this strain's emergence," Johnson said.
Escherichia coli bacteria are normally harmless and are very common, but a few strains can cause severe sickness including diarrhea, urinary tract infections and pneumonia.
