Dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria across geographic borders.
The development of antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria in any country is of global importance. After their initial selection and local dissemination, AR bacteria can be transferred across international borders by human travelers, animal and insect vectors, agricultural products, and surface water. The sources and routes of importation of strains of AR bacteria are most often unknown or undetected, because many bacteria carrying resistance genes do not cause disease, and routine surveillance often does not detect them. Control of international dissemination of AR bacteria depends on methods to reduce selection pressure for the development of such bacteria and improved surveillance to detect their subsequent spread.
Okeke
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Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 W. Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Edelman
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D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004199:Disease Vectors; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004463:Ecology; D006801:Humans; D019371:Topography, Medical