May 2016 – HEALTH – The
United States’ first known case of a superbug that cannot be killed by a
last resort-style kind of antibiotic was detailed in a report by the
U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden announced the case at the National
Press Club in Washington.
A 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman showed
the presence of a rare kind of E. coli infection that is resistant to
antibiotics, even Colistin, which doctors sometimes use as a last resort
when other antibiotics fail.
The woman went to a clinic in
Pennsylvania, and a sample was forwarded to Walter Reed National
Military Medical Center. Walter Reed found the bacteria in her urine. No
other details were available, including how the woman became infected.
She has not traveled outside the United States within the past five
months.
The CDC and the Pennsylvania State
Health Department mobilized immediately to investigate the case and to
trace the contacts the patient may have had to see if the bacteria had
spread. The CDC also said it is looking for other potential cases in the
health care facility the patient visited. The bacteria have been
identified in other infections outside the United States. Doctors saw
cases in Europe, Canada and China.
One report suggests that this kind of
infection can result in the deaths of half the patients who become
infected. Antibiotic resistance has become a growing problem in this
country. The World Health Organization has warned that it is one of the
biggest threats to global health today. Frieden
warned that although this is the first case in the United States, we
should expect to see more such superbugs in the near future. Frieden,
who often warns doctors against overuse of antibiotics, urged scientists
to develop new drugs quickly.
Each year in the United States, at
least 2 million people become infected with other kinds of bacteria that
can’t be beaten with most antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people die
each year as a result of those infections, according to the CDC. “The
medicine cabinet is empty for some patients,” Frieden said. “It is the
end of the road unless we act urgently.” –CNN
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