An increase in reports of a rare but potentially deadly type of superbug resistant to nearly all antibiotics has prompted stricter precautions in U.S. hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings.
People who carry dangerous CRE - Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae - can take more than a year before they test negative for the bacteria, making it more difficult to control and raising the risk or wider spread. Since last July, there have been 15 reports of unusual forms of CRE in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control called for stricter isolation and hygiene precautions, increased screening of patients potentially colonized with CRE and better communication within and between hospitals and other health care setting where the bigs can become intractable - and deadly. CRE infections have a mortality rate of up to 40 percent, much higher than other health care infections, such as those caused by MRSA or C. difficile.
"The major concern is that an undiagnosed carrier may be admitted to hospital for totally unrelated reasons, and subsequently and unwittingly pass his CRE to other patients," said Dr. Amon Yinnon, one of the American Journal of Infection Control study's authors. Read the full details here:
Reports of rare superbug jump in US, CDC says
Infection leading to sepsis and death are ever increasing in the hospital setting. The CDC is now reporting an ever increasing risk of "super bugs" which are resistant to all forms of antibiotics and claim the lives of many who contract it. It is important to know the existence of these strains and avoid the locations where they are commonly found.
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