A deadly, drug-resistant bacteria found in hospitals appears to be spreading more easily than scientists first thought, according to a new study.
Medical Xpress cites a Harvard study that found carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is able to resist antibiotic treatments, an attribute that appears to be easily passed between the various types of bacteria in the CRE family.
Further, the bacteria appears to be spreading more rapidly and more easily between people — which could have deadly consequences.
"While the typical focus has been on treating sick patients with CRE-related infections, our new findings suggest that CRE is spreading beyond the obvious cases of disease, said study author William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"We need to look harder for this unobserved transmission within our communities and healthcare facilities if we want to stamp it out."
The report cites CDC figures that show there are 9,300 CRE infections in the United States every year, which lead to 600 deaths.
Researchers in the above mentioned study took samples at three hospitals in the Boston area and one in California. The conclusion was CRE bacteria are more drug-resistant than originally thought. The next step is to find a way to stop their spread.
"The best way to stop CRE making people sick is to prevent transmission in the first place," Hanage said. "If it is right that we are missing a lot of transmission, then only focusing on cases of disease is like playing Whack-a-Mole; we can be sure the bacteria will pop up again somewhere else."
A 70-year-old Nevada woman recently died from a drug-resistant bacteria that did not respond to 14 different antibiotics. She had broken her leg in India and contracted the bacteria there. After her death, the CDC tested 12 other antibiotics on the bug but none of them worked.
A report last May claimed 10 million could die every year, starting in 2050 because of drug-resistant infections.
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