common strain of bacteria could become resistant to triclosan

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

          "Newark, New Jersey [Across the USA]."  USA Today, 6 Aug 98, 11A.

               Officials will bury several tons of dirt contaminated with
               Agent Orange, a known carcinogen, in a 20-foot mound on the
               site of a former Agent Orange factory near the Passaic
               River.



          "Germ Fighter in Household Products [Marketing & Media]."  Wall
          Street Journal, 7 Aug 98, B7.
               In a new study by scientists from Tufts University Medical
               School and published in the journal _Nature_ [no citation
               given], researchers found that a common strain of bacteria
               could become resistant to triclosan with a mutation in just
               a single gene.  Triclosan is an increasingly common
               antibacterial agent in many consumer products, and companies
               had claimed that because it chemically dissolves bacterial
               membranes, it was not likely to result in resistant strains
               of bacteria.  The new research challenges this notion and
               suggests that it could occur in other types of bacteria as
               well, leading to concern that resistant strains could pose
               problems for doctors needing to use antibacterial soaps to
               prepare for surgery and for medical patients requiring
               low-bacteria environments.