Scientists worry over germ killers.
Associated Press
An antibacterial agent widely used in soaps, lotions and other consumer products triggers a genetic change in bacteria that could widen the scope of life-threatening drug resistance, a new study shows.
Now germ hunters from Tufts University Medical School in Boston are hoping to capture some of the drug-resistant bacteria they suspect may lurk in households where heavily advertised products containing the compound triclosan are being used every day.
The researchers described the use of antibacterials outside of hospitals as a "fad that has crept up on us over the past three or four years to the point where it is overwhelming when you go to the supermarket."
"People think they are sterilizing the world by using these products and, in fact, they are potentially changing it," said Dr. Stuart Levy, director of the Tufts research group. "They really are over-the-counter antibiotics."
Companies that use triclosan in their products said the agent has been used safely for more than 30 years.
"There is no real-world evidence of a link between resistant bacteria and triclosan," said Glenn Cueman, president of North Carolina-based Microban Inc., which adds the agent to inhibit germ growth on plastics (which can go into the making of highchair trays).
The Tufts study was started because of infection experts' concern they are running out of medicines known to kill dangerous bacteria.
Germs can genetically mutate into tougher superstrains if they are repeatedly exposed to, but not killed by, antibiotic drugs and antibacterial agents. Federal figures show the top six bacteria found in hospitals are resistant to at least one drug.
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