Early-life gut microbiome modulation reduces the abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

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Early-life gut microbiome modulation reduces the abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

An exorbitant increase of antibiotic resistance (AR) is a global havoc and the spread of AR further aggravates the problem. Human may acquire resistance in the early stage of life by resistant bacteria to which they get exposed and may suffer long-term consequences. Development of the novel strategy to limit the spread of AR in early life is currently a global need. A team led by Jennifer T. Smilowitz and Mark A. Underwood from University of California and UC Davis Children’s Hospital, Sacramento, CA respectively found easy solution for the aforementioned problem. They achieved significant reduction in AR bacteria and AR genes (ARGs) in the infant gut by just supplementing Bifidobacterium infantis EVC001 in support of lactation. They employed shotgun metagenomics to study effect of Bifidobacterium infantis EVC001 supplementation on AR bacteria and ARGs and observed ~90 % reduction in the ARGs belonging to AR bacteria viz. Clostridium, Escherichia and Staphylococcus.  However, they are further exploring effect of Bifidobacterium infantis EVC001 colonization on AR infections in breastfed infants.

To read the entire article, visit the website of Journal Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control (Link).