Centers for Disease Control Issues Warning Over CRE

Centers for Disease Control Issues CRE Superbug Warning

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Shapiro Law Group

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a warning about superbugs in hospitals. Superbugs are bacteria that have evolved to become resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance makes superbugs notoriously difficult to treat.

The warning came after the CDC found CRE in seven major metropolitan area hospitals. CDC researchers spent the last year observing hospitals in cities such as New York, Baltimore and Atlanta. Researchers are worried CRE could evolve to become as deadly as other superbugs, such as MRSA and C. diff. Although the mortality rate for CRE is 9 percent, it can become 50 percent if the infection reaches the bloodstream. CRE infections are especially deadly to patients with compromised immune systems.

Superbugs like CRE can attach to endoscopes and other medical devices used on infected patients. This method of transmission occurred during a recent outbreak at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, where 180 patients were exposed to CRE. Infected patients may travel to several hospitals, unwillingly spreading CRE and other superbugs. To stop the spread of CRE, the CDC recommends isolating patients with superbug infections.

Can Hospitals Stop the Spread of Superbugs?

Superbugs have forced hospitals to take sanitation more seriously, treating it as a life-and-death matter concerning patient safety. CDC statistics show 23,000 people die from superbug-related infections every year in U.S. hospitals. Failing to carefully clean medical devices and sanitize surfaces in hospitals can now kill thousands of patients annually.

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