On June 14, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations sought public health officials' expertise on how to best allocate funds at home and abroad against the MCR-1 superbug, according to The Hill.
Here are five notes:
1. A few weeks ago, the officials reported MCR-1 infected the first patient in the nation. MCR-1 is a very resistant gene researchers detected last year in China.
2. Rep. Red Upton (R-Mich.) said it is not a question of if, but when, the gene will merge with another superb, creating a superbug resistant to all other antibiotics.
3. Researchers have found the MCRI gene in two pig samples, and the CDC reported the MCR-1 has already sickened two million Americans.
4. At the hearing, officials cautioned against antibiotic overuse. A 2016 CDC study found at least 30 percent of written antibiotic prescriptions in the United Sates are unnecessary.
5. Officials at the hearing also advocated for new advanced drugs which could combat increasing antibiotic resistance.
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