Does the composition of soap lead to antibiotic resistance?

Recent research published in the journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy suggests that British scientists have discovered a possible link between the common antimicrobial ingredient and antibiotic resistance.

Triclosan was warned by the FDA

The U.S. food and drug administration (FDA) in 2016 warned consumers to use triclosan soap because it has safety concerns and no evidence that it is better than regular soap. But in fact, in addition to antibacterial soap used by health care agencies通渠, triclosan has been added to products such as toys, furniture and clothing to prevent bacterial contamination.

The FDA warned that triclosan could lead to antibiotic resistance - meaning the drugs are no longer effective when bacteria evolve and exhibit ways to avoid them.

Bacteria or the production of cross - resistance

The new study presents a possible explanation of how the antibiotic resistance is produced.

The researchers focused on a phenomenon known as "cross resistance", when resistance to one type of antibiotic was given another type of resistance.

In particular, the new study found that when certain bacteria developed resistance to a group of drugs called quinolones, they also became resistant to triclosan. Quinolones kill bacteria by killing enzymes that help DNA replicate during replication. (when a cell replicates its DNA, it needs to untangle and separate the two strands of DNA that make up the double helix.) If bacteria can't release DNA, they can't replicate. Examples of antibiotics in quinolones include ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin apartment rental, according to the university of Maryland medical center.

Bacteria can develop resistance to quinolones, however, because of the mutations that make it more difficult to bind to DNA. But the researchers found that, in addition to these changes, quinolone class drug-resistant bacteria also opens the other self defense mechanism, the mechanism of combination, also can make resistant bacteria in chemical production.

Initially, the researchers found that quinolone resistance and triclosan resistance were associated with salmonella detection. But in a new study in the lab, the mechanism can also be found in e. coli.

England Birmingham university institute of microbiology and infection, a senior lecturer company registry hk, Mark Webber (Mark Webber) said in a statement: "we believe that the bacteria are thought to always attack, and then is raised against other threats, including triclosan. Fear is that this situation may be reversed, triclosan exposure may promote the growth of antibiotic resistant strains."

However, the researchers found no evidence of this in the new study. More research is needed to see if triclosan can lead to bacterial resistance to other antimicrobial agents.

"Understanding how antibiotic resistance has occurred and under what conditions is crucial to preventing the emergence of more antibiotic-resistant bacteria," Webber said.