No remedy works

Aggressive E. coli spreads in Sweden

The reason for the excitement is the rapid spread of coli bacteria, which cannot be treated with antibiotics (symbolic image).

(Bild: thinkstockphotos.de)

A new variant of the coliform bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) is causing concern among Swedish health experts. Not only is it spreading rapidly, but antibiotics are not effective against the bacterial clone. An infection can have serious consequences.

The multi-resistant germ is already causing problems in medical care, warn experts from the Swedish Health Authority. This year alone, 350 cases have already been registered. After the germ was first detected in 2014, the number of cases had almost tripled by 2024.

Expert: "That would be very bad"
 "We don't want this disease to gain a foothold and become a dominant bacterium. That would be very bad," warns Anders Sönnerborg, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the renowned Karolinska Institute, to Aftonbladet. Although the pathogen is no more contagious than other bacteria, "it is a serious situation for those who are affected by this bacterium", says the expert.

The main problem here is resistance to treatment with antibiotics. While the symptoms and severity do not differ significantly from typical infections with E. coli, there is simply no effective treatment in this case.

Resistant germs as a ticking time bomb
The problem of resistance has been increasing for years and is not just limited to coli bacteria, as health experts have been warning for years. Triggered by the massive use of antibiotics in agriculture, resistant bacteria are increasingly becoming a ticking time bomb.

E. coli bacteria in particular pose a significant health risk in Austria, especially those strains that include pathogens such as enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). These culprits lurk in raw meat, unwashed vegetables and even in drinking water.

They can not only cause severe diarrhea, but also life-threatening kidney failure. The danger can only be averted with strict hygiene and careful preparation of food.