Devon Lukas
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2013/dpk-vs-hai.html
Author/Publication: N.a./ CDC, February 28, 2014
CRE, short for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, are a group of germs that are resistant to pretty much all antibiotics known in medicine today. CRE infections are bacterial infections that are spread by human to human contact. CRE infections occur almost always in a hospital or in someone who is getting a lot of medical care. Though CRE is not actually that common, there are two unusual traits to it that gets health departments worried. The first is its resistance. Two types of CRE bacteria are the KPC and NDM enzymes that break down carbapenems, therefore, the infection is very hard to treat. Even some of the strongest drugs, called carbapenems, cannot fight the CRE germs. Due to this, a CRE bloodstream infection kills 1 in every 2 people that it infects.
The second is CRE's spreadability. CRE can actually transfer its resistance to antibiotics into other bacteria. Medical people are not only worried about the spread of CRE and it becoming a more common and untreatable infection, but also about it causing other bacteria to become antibiotic-resistant. About 4% of the 4,000 US hospitals, and about 18% of the 200 US long-term acute care hospitals had at least one CRE infected patient, and at least one infection has been reported in 42 of our states. Medical facilities are doing all they can to prevent the spread of this worrisome and untreatable infection, including the "Detect and Protect" approach, and only prescribing antibiotics when absolutely necessary.
The CRE crisis directly relates Mr. Hohn's Biology class's study on the evolution of antibiotic-resistance in bacteria, but also to our study of GMO's. CRE gaining resistance works through evolution. When antibiotics are used to treat infections and diseases, they are meant to kill off or slow the bacteria causing the problem. But the antibiotic causes selection within the bacteria, just like natural selection in animals, so that the bacteria evolves to fit an environment in which antibiotics are there. The antibiotic at first kills off most of the bacteria, but the ones resistant through a mutation, different gene, etc., survive and reproduce, making the resistance normal in that bacteria specie. Antibiotics used for something minor can also start the evolution process in other bacteria that is not even related to the minor issue. This is what medical officials found is happening with the CRE. Antibiotics used for a cold don't actually help the cold at all, and add to the resistance of much more dangerous bacterias already living in our bodies like the CRE. This is why they are trying to cut down on antibiotic prescription.
In our GMO unit, we talked about pesticide resistance becoming a problem for farmers. E. coli, which was in some of the GMO crops, is a type of CRE. The "superbugs and super weeds" that resulted from that became resistant to pesticides used to kill them and protect the crops, much like how the bacterial infection becomes resistant to antibiotics.
It is stated in this article that only one out of 2 patients suffering from a CRE infection die. Why is it that the death rate is only 50% if there is not apparent antibiotic that can kill off the CRE bacteria? If it is a human gene that somehow makes the patient resistant to the superbacteria, is there any theoretical way that one could take that gene from the patient and make it into a medicine regardless of ethical issues?
ReplyDeleteA death rate of 50% is still a big concern for medical facilities, but I think what makes it seem less than you would think, for an infection that has almost no treatment, is if it affects the bloodstream or not. The infection is much more serious in the bloodstream, causing most of the deaths, but infections in other parts of the body can more easily be treated by the few drugs that actually have some sort of affect on this infection. Also some immune systems are able to fight this off, and in response to your other question, I believe that creating a medicine by those means is possible, though I have not found any evidence of any attempts to do so in my research on this topic.
DeleteWhere does this bacteria come from because if it comes from a certain place, certain measures can be taken to prevent the risk of it spreading? What symptoms occur with this bacteria infecting people?
ReplyDeleteThe bacteria causes an infection that is almost completely restricted to being contracted in hospitals or by people receiving a high amount of medical care. Medical facilities are taking measures in order to prevent the risk of it spreading out of their facilities and into every day people/places. The infection has a wide variety of symptoms because it can cause many different diseases. An example of a disease caused by a CRE infection is pneumonia.
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