New superbugs a threat to human life

The outbreak of disease caused by a new strain of E. coli once again shows the increasing vulnerability of human beings to bacteria and viruses, which are getting deadlier and more resistant to antibiotics.

Recently, Chinese researchers hit international headlines by being the first to decode the human genome of the E. coli bacterium that has so far caused 37 deaths and left more than 3,000 ill. The Beijing Genomics Institute did pioneering work in analyzing the bacterium that causes this deadly disease. For instance, it found out that E. coli contains genes that make it resistant to many different antibiotics.

The outbreak of a deadly disease caused by a new strain of the E. coli bacteria is the latest chapter of the victory of new forms of bacteria and viruses over medicines and thus over human beings. The new strain of the already rare 0104 type of E. coli is different from other common types of E. coli which normally cause only a mild ailment. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the variant had "never been seen in an outbreak situation before".