So, there’s a new “nightmare bacteria” surfing the immune systems of four percent of U.S. hospitals and 18 percent of its nursing homes. It’s nightmarish because it often doesn’t respond to “last-resort antibiotics” called carbapenems. The fatality rate is reportedly about 50 percent in people who contract serious infections. Some more:
Although CRE bacteria are not yet found nationwide, they have increased fourfold within the United States in the past decade, with most cases reported in the Northeast.
Health officials said they’re concerned about the rapid spread of the bacteria, which can endanger the lives of patients and healthy people. For example, in the last 10 years, the CDC tracked one CRE from one health-care facility to similar facilities in 42 states.
One type of CRE, a resistant form of Klebsiella pneumoniae, has increased sevenfold in the past decade, according to the CDC’s March 5 Vital Signs report.
“To see bacteria that are resistant is worrisome, because this group of bacteria are very common,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
So, basically, Washyourhandsington.
