Researchers have found a rare and frightening superbug gene on a U.S. pig farm and say their discovery suggests raw meat could carry the dangerous germs into the human population. The gene is called bla IMP-27 and it gives bacteria the ability to resist the effects of a class of antibiotics called carbapenems. Carbapenems are considered an antibiotic of last resort, so germs that resist their effects are very difficult to kill. The implication of this finding is that there is a real risk that CRE may disseminate in food animal populations and eventually contaminate fresh retail meat products.