Is it the end of the road for antibiotics?

A first case of a patient with a bacterium that is resistant to the antibiotic colistin — known as the drug of last resort — has been detected in the US.

The 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania has recovered but US health officials warned of the risk of it being “the end of the road” for antibiotics.

Tom Frieden, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in Washington: “It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently.”