He continued, “However, it is important to note that the implications for infection prevention and antibiotic treatment policies will differ locally because the impact of acquisition and spread of ESBL-E by travelers is highly dependent on the local ESBL-E prevalence in the country of origin.”

Dr. Antoine Andremont of Bichat-Claude Bernard University Hospital in Paris, France, coauthor of an accompanying editorial, told Reuters Health, “Resistance of bacteria to antibiotics has reached alarming levels in hospitalized patients but so far has had relatively low impact on GP practice in the community.”

“This is, however, rapidly changing with the evidence that travelers to tropical areas very often come back home carrying multiresistant bacteria in their intestine for a few months. This is not a disease per se, but carriers are more prone to develop multiresistant infections, for instance, urinary tract infections, that may not be treated as easily as usual,” he explained by email.

Dr. Andremont concluded, “Therefore, GPs must now be aware of this risk and be prepared to adapt their practice in case of first-line treatment failure. Bacterial resistance is indeed a major holistic problem that will be solved only if we collectively manage to reduce all abuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans well as in animal medicine and in food chain production.”

Dr. Andremont has received personal fees from biotech company DaVolterra, which develops antibiotics.