An emerging “superbug” that causes ear infections in children and is resistant to multiple antibiotics can only be treated with an adult medication, researchers report. Read the full story here.
Two Rochester, N.Y., pediatricians report finding a multiple antibiotic-resistant strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae that caused ear infections in nine children in their practice over three years. The only antibiotic that was effective in treating these infections was levofloxacin, which isn’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in children.
“We found a superbug causing ear infections in Rochester — the Legacy strain — that’s resistant to all antibiotics approved by the FDA for use in children,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Michael Pichichero, a professor of microbiology, immunology and pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and a private practice pediatrician with the Legacy Pediatric Group.
The resistant infections accounted for only 1.5 percent of the ear infections in their practice, Pichichero noted.
Read the full story here.
