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Antibiotic-resistant microbes ‘date back 450m years’
The study findings provide targets for research to design new antibiotics and disinfectants that specifically eliminate enterococci.
Ancestors of hospital ‘superbugs’ lived in ancient land mammals

Antibiotic-resistant microbes date back 450 million years, according to new research which suggests that the ancestors of leading hospital ‘superbugs’, known as the enterococci, lived in the intestines of ancient land mammals.

US scientists looked at the evolutionary history of these pathogens, which have become leading causes of antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals.

Co-corresponding author Ashlee M Earl said that by analysing the genomes and behaviours of today’s enterococci, the research team were able to “rewind the clock back to their earliest existence and piece together a picture of how these organisms were shaped into what they are today”.

Bacteria arose nearly four billion years ago. When animals first arose in the sea during the Cambrian Explosion 542 million years ago, bacteria learned to live in and on them. A hundred million years later, animals crawled onto land and took their microbes with them. Whilst some bacteria protects and serves animals, others live in the environment, and others cause disease.

Writing in the journal Cell, researchers said all species of enterococci - including those never found in hospitals - were naturally resistant to dryness, starvation, disinfectants and many antibiotics.

The team discovered enterococci lived in the intestines of land animals that are now extinct, including dinosaurs and the first millipede-like organisms to crawl on land. New species of enterococci were found to appear when new types of animals appeared. This includes those that arose after crawling onto land for the first time, as well as those that arose after mass extinctions - particularly the greatest mass extinction, the End Permian Extinction, which took place 251 million years ago.

For land animals, intestinal microbes are excreted as faeces which dry out and the microbes mostly die over time. However, this is not the case with enterococci, which are unusually hardy and can withstand drying out and starvation, scientists say.

“We now know what genes were gained by enterococci hundreds of millions of years ago, when they became resistant to drying out, and to disinfectants and antibiotics that attack their cell walls,” explained study leader Michael S Gilmore.

“These are now targets for our research to design new types of antibiotics and disinfectants that specifically eliminate enterococci, to remove them as threats to hospitalised patients.”

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.