CRKP Superbug in California can be easily controlled

March 25, 2011

Hand washing is the most basic, and most effective way of controlling drug-resistant "superbugs." Image: Flickr / kokopinto / CC-BY-SA

Some of the headlines are scary: “New superbug in California,” “Superbug kills 40 percent of those exposed,” “Nursing home incubating new CRKP Superbug.” Beyond these headlines, though, is a story of a relatively easily controlled bug that is doing serious damage.

The history of the CRKP superbug

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is a bacteria that cannot be killed by any known antibiotic. The bug is usually found in hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing facilities. Over seven months of 2010, L.A. county facilities reported 350 cases of CRKP. The infection is usually found in elderly patients, those who have taken long-term antibiotics and the infirm. Healthy individuals are rarely infected with CRKP, which has been reported around the world, from Israel to the East Coast of the U.S.

The danger of superbugs

The term “superbugs” usually describes bacteria that are resistant to known antibiotics. MERSA, Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, VRE, ESBLs and PRSP are all drug-resistant bacteria. These infections are especially dangerous because they can be incredibly difficult to treat. Effectively, superbugs take healthcare back to the days before antibiotics; the only hope is that the body can fight off the infection.

The CRKP superbug

Reports say that the new CRKP superbug is popping up in California. It is true that CRKP is a dangerous bug that can kill. About 40 percent of patients in Israel and the East Coast of the United States that contract CRKP eventually die of the infection or a related complication. The majority of CRKP infections come from hospitals and long-term care facilities, where drug-resistant bacteria tend to grow much more easily. The easiest and most effective way of controlling CRKP is very simple: hand washing. Hand washing in hospitals should be the most basic infection-control measure, but studies have shown that some hospitals have compliance rates as low as 40 percent. Some hospitals have implemented checklist systems, but no national standard yet exists to encourage or reward the simple steps that would reduce infections.

Sources

New York Times http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/a-hospital-hand-washing-project-to-save-lives-and-money/

Business Insider http://www.businessinsider.com/map-of-the-day-carbapenem-resistant-enterobacteriaceae-cre-producing-metallo-beta-lactamases-2011-3#comment-4d8b9ac94bd7c86c72040000

CDC http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5810a4.htm

Post By bryanh (1,397 Posts)

Connect

Do you have a fantastic idea related to this article, but just don't have the money you need to start your own company or side-business? Get the loans you need from https://personalmoneynetwork.com to help get your new company underway, from the small loan professionals at PersonalMoneyNetwork.

PG&E to pay $70 million for pipeline tragedy

Pacific Gas and Electric was responsible for a pipeline explosion that killed eight in 2010. Image: juggernautco/Flickr/CC BY

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a northern California utility, has agreed to pay $70 million to the California town of San Bruno for a pipeline explosion that killed eight people in 2010. Company says it’s remorseful The San Francisco-based power company’s president, Chris Johns, released a statement Monday, saying PG&E is sorry and eager to [...]

Judge stabbed and deputy shot in Washington courthouse

Grays Harbor County Courthouse. Image: MiK/Flickr/CC BY-SA

Following a standoff in a Washington state county courtroom Friday, a man reportedly escaped after shooting a sheriff’s deputy in the shoulder and stabbing a judge in the neck. The man is still at large. Treachery among the tree farms The incident occurred Friday afternoon in the western Washington town of Montesano, which bills itself [...]

Microraptor was one flashy little dinosaur

This Microraptor fossil is preserved at China's Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature. Image: Hello, I am Bruce/Flickr/CC BY-SA

A team of Chinese and American scientists have found that Microraptor, a small four winged dinosaur that went extinct about 130 million years ago, was likely black and almost certainly had glossy, iridescent feathers. Until now, the coloring of extinct creatures was a matter of pure speculation. That may no longer be the case. The [...]

Autocorrected message leads to school lockdown

The Gainesville, Ga. Homage to the Sun presides over anotehr day as a piotential tragedy turns out to be a mistake. Image" Olaf/Flickr/CC BY-SA

Adjacent schools in Georgia were locked down for two hours Wednesday after a text message reportedly warned of a “gunman” on campus. Later, it was learned that the message was the result of a smartphone autocorrect function, attempting to “fix” the misspelled slang word “gunna.” A series of mixups A series of mixups led to [...]

Recent Posts by

Coca-Cola has begun to use a different kind of caramel color to avoid a cancer label. (Photo Credit: Public Domain/Cane cane/Wikipedia)