25.06.2016

J. Antimicrob. Chemother. (2016)

In letters to the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, two research teams in Lithuania and Argentina report that they trapped birds and swabbed their butts, or scooped up seagull droppings, and found the resistance-conferring gene in E. coli being carried by two species: herring gulls in Lithuania (Larus argentatus) and kelp gulls in Argentina (Larus dominicanus). 
Researchers believe the gulls picked up E. coli containing mcr-1 by eating contaminated garbage, then flying hundreds or thousands of miles, spreading the organisms along their routes.
The gene continues to be identified in new locations weekly, in more than 100 sites since the initial report in November 2015.