Nightmare' drug-resistant bacteria found in U.S. woman

[abu afak]

What do they do with these people? Do they stay infectious (by blood/mosquito/etc) even if they recover?
Cases have been found internationally, now here.
Many (if not all) bacterial bugs, it seems, can get resistance on the genetic level.
(see Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae - Wikipedia)

By Jen Christensen and Debra Goldschmidt, CNN
Thu May 26, 2016
'Nightmare' drug-resistant CRE found in U.S. woman - CNN.com

The United States' first known case of a superbug that cannot be killed by any existing antibiotic was announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Defense. 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 developed a carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, infection. It's a rare infection but one that Frieden labeled "a nightmare bacteria."

It's resistant to every known antibiotic, 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. 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 bacteria have been identified in other infections outside the United States. Doctors saw a case in the United Kingdom in 2008 and cases in Italy and China.

CRE infections are incredibly difficult to treat and can quickly become deadly. 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 CRE 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 beat 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."​

 

[Moonglow]

Bacteria has killed more humans than war....

 

[waltky]

'Incentives' is new term for more money

New incentives needed to develop antibiotics to fight superbugs
May 27, 2016 - Drugmakers are renewing efforts to develop medicines to fight emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but creating new classes of drugs on the scale needed is unlikely to happen without new financial incentives to make the effort worth the investment, companies and industry experts said.

American military researchers on Thursday announced the first U.S. case of a patient with an infection found to be resistant to the antibiotic colistin, the drug often held in reserve for when all else fails. That put a spotlight on the urgent need for new medicines that can combat what health officials have called "nightmare bacteria." Drugmakers on Friday acknowledged that in the absence of a new way of compensating them, it simply does not make economic sense to pour serious resources into work on new antibiotics. "The return on investment based on the current commercial model is not really commensurate with the amount of effort you have to put into it," said David Payne, who heads GlaxoSmithKline PLC's antibiotics drug group. Other pharmaceutical companies expressed a similar sentiment.

In January, some 80 drugmakers and diagnostics companies, including Pfizer Inc , Merck & Co , Johnson & Johnson and Glaxo, signed a declaration calling for cooperation among governments and companies to create incentives to revitalize research and development of new antibiotics. It proposed a new business model in which profit would not be linked to higher sales. For example, governments and health organizations could offer lump-sum rewards for development of a successful new antibiotic. A British government panel suggested this month that drug companies be offered up to $1.5 billion for successful development of a new antibiotic.

In the United States alone, antibiotic-resistant bacteria causes 2 million serious infections and 23,000 deaths annually, according to U.S. health officials. Unrestrained overuse of current antibiotics by doctors and hospitals, often when they are not needed, and widespread antibiotic use in food livestock have contributed to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But in recent years, major drugmakers have poured most of their research dollars into highly profitable medicines to fight cancer, rare diseases and hepatitis C. These drugs not only command high prices, they also are typically used far longer than antibiotics.

And the companies, which have come under intense criticism in recent months for continually raising prices on popular drugs, say it costs about as much to develop a new antibiotic as it does to bring to market new cancer drugs that can command more than $100,000 a year per patient. "Drug companies can't make an economic case for investing in superbug drugs," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Gordon said governments and foundations need to get more involved in research and funding to spearhead efforts to combat the problem. To critics who argue that U.S. companies have enormous cash reserves that could be used to address a public health crisis, drugmakers say they have a fiduciary duty to shareholders to maximize profits.

ON THE R&D FRONT LINES

 

[bucs90]

Probably caught it from a liberal

 

[JimBowie1958]

Probably caught it from a liberal

Wait, the liberal is not the superbug?

 

[waltky]

Deadly Drug-resistant Yeast is emerging in hospital settings globally...

Deadly Drug-resistant Yeast Poses New Threat
July 01, 2016 | A highly drug-resistant and potentially fatal yeast strain called Candida auris is emerging in hospital settings around the world. The yeast has shown resistance to three of the most commonly prescribed antifungal drugs: fluconazole, amphotericin B and caspofungin.

U.S. public health officials are urging doctors and nurses to be on the lookout for the dangerous pathogen, which can be fatal in 30 percent to 60 percent of infected patients. The yeast strain has been found in nine countries on four continents since 2009, including one possible infection in the United States in 2013. It was first identified in Japan in 2009 in a person with an ear infection. Other countries with confirmed infections are India, South Africa, Kuwait, Pakistan, South Korea, Colombia, Venezuela and the United Kingdom.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent an alert warning of the potential threat of C. auris in the U.S. and globally. Tom Chiller, chief of the mycotic diseases branch at the CDC, which monitors and studies fungal infections, told VOA the drug-resistant strain of C. auris "sounds pretty nasty." However, Chiller said, he hasn't heard of any clusters or outbreaks of C. auris, making it "very, very rare."

U.S. public health officials are urging doctors and nurses around the world to be on the lookout for a highly drug-resistant yeast strain called Candida auris.​

Invasion through wounds

C. auris poses the greatest risk to hospitalized patients with diabetes and people with large vein catheters. Patients who are taking antibiotics or antifungal medications or who are in intensive care are also at risk. The yeast infection can get inside the body through open wounds. Once inside, it can infect the bloodstream, causing organ failure.

Identifying the culprit

Officials with the CDC say the biggest problem in spotting C. auris is that it mimics other more harmless, treatable yeast infections, such as those of the genitals, skin or throat. Common yeast infections can be identified through conventional testing, but the specialized, molecular detection methods necessary for identifying C. auris are not available to all hospitals. This raises the concern that cases are not being identified in other countries.

What to do

U.S. public health officials recommend that patients infected with C. auris have their own hospital rooms, which should be disinfected regularly. The CDC also recommends that doctors immediately report suspected infections to local and federal health authorities.

Deadly Drug-resistant Yeast Poses New Threat

 

[waltky]

Granny tells Uncle Ferd to stay away from dem Hispexican senoritas so he don't catch sumpin' nasty dat'll kill him...

Antibiotic Resistance Threatens Treatment of Sexually-transmitted Infections
August 30, 2016 — The World Health Organization warns of a growing threat of antibiotic resistance to three common sexually transmitted infections. The WHO is issuing updated guidelines on treatments nations should follow to reduce their spread and improve sexual and reproductive health.

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are major public health problems. The World Health Organization estimates the three sexually-transmitted diseases together infect more than 200 million people globally every year. Chlamidya, which can cause infertility in both men and women, infects 131 million people. The WHO says those who come down with this common bacterial infection frequently also have gonorrhea. And, that poses a particular problem because antibiotic resistance is most widespread and growing most rapidly in the treatment of gonorrhea.

Medical officer Teodora Wi, in the WHO’s department of reproductive health and research, says WHO guidelines issued in 2003 recommended the antibiotic quinolones for the treatment of gonorrhea. She says the new guidelines advise against using this drug. “In most countries in Africa, they still continue to use quinolones because it is a WHO recommendation and we know that there is already very high resistance to this," said Wi. "So, that is why we need to update this and say quinolones should not be used anymore.”

A microbiologist reads a panel to check on a bacterium's resistance to an antibiotic in the Infectious Disease Laboratory at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.​

Wi says other safe, effective treatments are available. While a relatively small 5.6 million people are infected with syphilis, its potential impact can be devastating. Fetal death can result if a pregnant woman transmits syphilis to her fetus. In 2012, the WHO reports untreated syphilis infections in pregnant women caused an estimated 200,000 stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

The new WHO guidelines recommend a single dose of benzathine penicillin. Health officials say the injectable antibiotic is the most effective treatment for syphilis and cheaper than oral antibiotics. While the guidelines recommend safe, effective medical treatments for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, the WHO notes condoms remain one of the most effective methods of protection against sexually-transmitted infections - when used correctly and consistently.

Antibiotic Resistance Threatens Treatment of Sexually-transmitted Infections

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - it's one o' dem endtime plagues, we all gonna die!"...

'Nightmare bacteria' spreading across the U.S.
3 Apr`18 - "Nightmare bacteria" with the power to resist most antibiotics are popping up across the U.S., but new, aggressive policies can help stop them from spreading, federal health officials said Tuesday.

A new program for testing suspect bacteria turned up unusual antibiotic-resistance genes 221 times in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. And 11 percent of people screened for these superbugs carried them, even though they had no symptoms, the CDC said. "CDC's study found several dangerous pathogens, hiding in plain sight, that can cause infections that are difficult or impossible to treat," said the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat. "While they are appearing all over the place, an aggressive approach can snuff them out." Antibiotic-resistant germs kill more than 23,000 Americans a year.

Antibiotic-resistant BacteriaCarbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria​

They evolve quickly, developing mutations that let them evade the effects of antibiotics. If they are not stopped fast, they spread. Worse, the antibiotic-resistant DNA can be carried in little cassettes of genetic material called plasmids that bacteria can slip in their entirety to one another and to other species of bacteria. It's already happened several times in the U.S. — and when one superbug gives new powers to a different superbug, the result can be an infection that is impossible to treat. "Once antibiotic resistance spreads, it is harder to control—like a wildfire," the CDC said in a statement.

The World Health Organization has labeled antibiotic resistance a "fundamental threat" to humanity. The CDC tried out a new system aimed at quickly identifying these superbugs. They've helped staff up state health departments and labs to quickly test samples so that hospitals, clinics and other facilities can rapidly isolate patients infected with them. "We were able to put 500 additional staff across the country to help with this," Schuchat told NBC News.

Carrying germs, without any symptoms