Rare Superbug Hits U.S Hospitals, says CDC:

Jojy Cheriyan MD;MPH-March 5,2013

Another bacteria called Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriacea (CRE) is spreading across the United States according to the weekly report Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published today (March 5,2013) by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Untreatable and hard-to-treat infections from CRE germs are on the rise among patients in medical facilities. Risk of death is 50% with this infection. Due to the movement of patients throughout the healthcare system, if CRE are a problem in one facility, then typically they are a problem in other facilities in the region as well. Most cases are reported in the northeast region.

CRE germs have become resistant to all or nearly all the antibiotics we have today. CDC Director Thomas Frieden MD, MPH called it 'nightmare bacteria' because this bacteria can pass antibiotic resistance elements to other bacteria and when CRE attacks the blood it is often a killer.

According to CDC report CRE infections are preventable with standard infection-control measures such as diligent handwashing.

About 4% of US hospitals had at least one patient with a CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) infection during the first half of 2012.

About 18% of long-term acute care hospitals had one.( Long-term acute care hospitals provide complex medical care, such as ventilation or wound care, for long periods of time.)

One type of CRE infection has been reported in medical facilities in 42 states during the last 10 years.

CDC has issued warning and guidelines for doctors and nurses to prevent the spread of CRE.

It calls on physicians to request immediate alerts from clinical labs when they identify CRE in a patient sample. Physicians and nurses are also advised to ask about the patient's CRE status when accepting a patient transfer from another facility.

CDC recommends to enforcing hygiene procedures, allotting isolation rooms for CRE-infected patients, minimizing use of central lines and urinary catheters, and prescribing antibiotics only when necessary.

CDC has also released a CRE toolkit which expands on the 2009 CDC recommendations and continues to be updated as new information becomes available.

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