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U.S. fiddles while superbug spreads

Gert van der Hoek

Gert van der Hoek

In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
U.S. fiddles while superbug spreads

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Ronald Hale went to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Canada last month with a lung problem, but instead of being helped, he was killed by the superbug carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae. The germ, which had been brought into the hospital by a female patient initially treated outside Canada, put him into septic shock and caused organ failure. He died hours later. And as health officials vowed to stop CRE from gaining a foothold, Hale?s death made headlines.

Canadians can look south to the U.S. to see the consequences of inaction. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the superbug CRE was first uncovered in North Carolina in 1999. By 2008, it had spread to 24 states and was ?routinely? seen in certain New York and New Jersey hospitals. But hospitals kept quiet. Now it?s in at least 43 states.

CRE infections could make going to hospitals in affected areas too perilous. National Institutes of Health researchers report that up to half of patients who get CRE infections die from them. Cleveland Clinic researchers say the death rate is 72 percent for patients with CRE bloodstream infections. Few, if any, antibiotics work against this germ.


Read more: Boston Herald
 
Re: U.S. fiddles while superbug spreads

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)

CRE, which stands for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, are a family of germs that are difficult to treat because they have high levels of resistance to antibiotics. Klebsiella species and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are examples of Enterobacteriaceae, a normal part of the human gut bacteria, that can become carbapenem-resistant. Types of CRE are sometimes known as KPC (Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase) and NDM (New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase). KPC and NDM are enzymes that break down carbapenems and make them ineffective.

Healthy people usually do not get CRE infections. In healthcare settings, CRE infections most commonly occur among patients who are receiving treatment for other conditions. Patients whose care requires devices like ventilators (breathing machines), urinary (bladder) catheters, or intravenous (vein) catheters, and patients who are taking long courses of certain antibiotics are most at risk for CRE infections.

Some CRE bacteria have become resistant to most available antibiotics. Infections with these germs are very difficult to treat, and can be deadly?one report cites they can contribute to death in up to 50% of patients who become infected.

Resources are given at the CDC link
http://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/cre/
 
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