Antibiotic Shocker

From eNewsletter 11/9/2026

DID YOU KNOW that a patient's gut microbiome may carry the mark of antibiotics for up to eight years, with the biggest hits from clindamycin, fluoroquinolones, and flucloxacillin?

Even one course can leave traces that recover slowly, according to a study of fecal metagenomes from nearly 15,000 adults, appearing in Nature Medicine.

The steepest diversity drop followed use within the prior year. Clindamycin, fluoroquinolones, and flucloxacillin showed the strongest associations, averaging 47, 20, and 21 fewer detected species, respectively. At 4 to 8 years, 10%-15% of species still showed altered abundance, and richness never fully rebounded. Flucloxacillin's link was especially unexpected given its narrow spectrum. To read the rest of today's issue, please go to this page.