A plea for the development of new antibiotics was issued yesterday as British experts warned of a tough battle ahead against drug-resistant organisms.
The Health Protection Agency warned of a "mixed situation" with an increasing range of treatment options for many common problem bugs, such as MRSA.
It said another group of bacteria, the gram-negative organisms, posed a greater difficulty as there was often just one drug available.
Sometimes multi-resistant bacteria could be untreatable – especially when they infect very sick patients or people with chronic lung infections. Problem bacteria include Pseudomonas and Burkholderia
HPA expert Dr David Livermore said: "Antibiotics are a precious resource in fighting infections and one that we must do everything possible to preserve. This is why we need to ensure there is a constant range of options under development."
He added: "Health Professionals also have a key part to play in ensuring the antibiotics we currently have are put to best use.
"Sensible prescribing is critical in keeping resistance at bay, and this is of particular relevance where a wide range of antibiotics are used in hospitals to protect vulnerable patients against infection.
"It is a fact of life that bacteria will always try to find a way to survive and develop resistance. Resistance is also part of the price we pay for advances in medical technology and being able to keep sick patients alive for longer."
Two further studies released today highlight the risks of infection.
An Australian study suggests that Staphylococcus aureus – of which MRSA is one may be causing cot deaths and staying undetected.
Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Paul Goldwater, of the University of Adelaide, found that ten per cent of cot death babies had infections in normally sterile sites, such as the heart, spleen or spine. Infection was rare in infants who died from accidental causes.
And microbiologists will hear that deaths from infectious heart disease – infective endocarditis – are increasing.
Dr Bernard Prendergast from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK, said there was a growing rate of complications among patients who received replacement heart valves – or developed infections from intravenous drug use.
He said "aggressive" Staphylococcus infections are now common – and after 20 years of staying unchanged, the death rate from infectious heart disease now seems to be rising.
He is due to speak to the conference of the Society for General Microbiology in Dublin.
Arch Dis Child 2008 10.1136/adc.2007,135939
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