A recent study published in Nature reveals that a five-day course of the antibiotic Cipro can disrupt gut bacteria for up to a year.

Conducted by Stanford University, the research involved 60 healthy adults who took 500 mg of Cipro for five days, with stool samples collected over a 20-week period.

The study found that antibiotic use leads to persistent antibiotic resistance in gut bacteria that lasts for over 10 weeks, with some cases detectable for up to one year.

Researchers identified 513 bacterial populations exhibiting genetic mutations linked to fluoroquinolone resistance, indicating adaptive evolution in response to the antibiotic.

This research underscores the importance of monitoring gut microbiome composition to reduce antibiotic resistance and improve antibiotic stewardship.

Antimicrobial resistance is a pressing global health concern, linked to millions of deaths annually and predicted to kill nearly 40 million people by 2050.

The proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is outpacing the development of new antibiotics, exacerbating the issue.

Dr. Eitan Yaffe led the research team, which sequenced genomes of more than 5,600 bacterial species and analyzed over 2.3 million sequence variants.

Antibiotic overprescribing, especially in pediatrics and nursing homes, contributes significantly to the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections.