Deadly Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Spreads in Southern California, page
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Topic started on 25-3-2011 @ 08:38 PM by hillynilly

Deadly Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Spreads in Southern California


abcnews.go.com
L.A. County Care Facilities Reported 350 Cases
Roughly 350 cases of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRKP, were reported in Los Angeles County between June and December of 2010, according to a study from the L.A. County Department of Public Health to be presented April 3 in Dallas at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

"These patients tend to be elderly, they are commonly on ventilators and they often stay at the facility for an extended period of time," Dr. Dawn Tera#a, medical epidemiologist and lead author of the study, said.

"But in terms of mortality and morbidity, it's very, very serious," Srinivasan said. "These infections are more difficult to treat than MRSA."

CRKP is an enterobacterium like salmonella and E. coli.

It is unclear how many cases of the 350 reported by Tera#a and colleagues were fatal. It is also unclear whether the infections stemmed from improper care at long term-care facilities or the frailty of the patients they serve. But Tera#a said infected patients tended to have health problems that often resulted in antibiotic use, which might have made them more susceptible.

"All of these factors contribute to a greater risk for health care-acquired infections," she said.

Besser said, "This superbug is very dangerous. It tends to affect people that are in the hospital for long periods of time; people that have underlying medical problems; people who have been in nursing homes."


"As a loved one of someone that is in the hospital, you have to be vigilant when you're sitting there with your relative and anyone comes in and wants to touch your relative without washing their hands," Besser said. "You have to say something. ... It does come down to simple things like that, making sure no one is giving a germ to someone you care about."
(visit the link for the full news article)

edit on 25-3-2011 by hillynilly because: (no reason given)



reply posted on 25-3-2011 @ 08:42 PM by HunkaHunka
reply to post by hillynilly


Actually, it's probably in the ventilators themselves.... These are primarily elderly patients using the same facilities..... Not to say that over use of antibiotics aren't a factor.... But then again, everything from Ammonia to Bleach are also factors....


I just don't know what else to say about these interesting times we are living in

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