The 3 Types Of Superbug Bacteria Most Likely To Infect You
(CBS SF) -- The outbreak of a "superbug" bacteria, killing two patients and sickening seven more is just a symptom of an increasingly alarming trend of bacteria evolving to survive the most stringent disinfectants and antibiotic regimes.
The CDC and National Institutes Of Health report drug-resistant bacteria infect more than 2 million people nationwide and kill at least 23,000.
New superbug versions of tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and staph infections are becoming more common. While these new strains of bacteria emerge, researchers are already tracking other bacteria, helping doctors, hospitals, and disinfectant manufacturers battle the increasingly strong microbes.
CRE: More than 100 patients may have been exposed to the carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae or CRE bacteria at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles this week. That is in addition the seven sick and two killed already. There are reports the bacteria can be deadly for as much as 50 percent of patients exposed.
MRSA: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a strain of staph bacteria that just won't die with common antibiotics. It is also one cause of necrotizing fasciitis -- an infection where bacteria eat your body's tissues, leaving pockets of dead flesh and in extreme cases, entire dead limbs, while the rest of you battles the infection, alive. The various forms of this potentially lethal microbe often impacts hospital patients. Another form, called CA-MRSA is spread outside of hospitals, creating skin boils and is spread by touching the skin of an infected person. A study found MRSA and other bacteria were living for days on airplane cabin surfaces.
E. COLI: This is one of the most common bacteria, and is living in your bowels right this second. Some strains, though, become dangerous and even deadly, and in a recent study, many strains have grown more resistant to antibiotic medications, especially those given to livestock. A report found 53 percent of raw chicken samples collected in 2011 were tainted with an antibiotic-resistant form of Escherichia coli, or E. coli. http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/superbugs/#sthash.G0q7JTcG.dpuf
Other tests found even higher concentrations of various bacteria.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/04/16/consumerwatch-investigation-uncovers-superbugs-in-store-bought-meats/
So, how should the public and doctors respond to these scary bacteria?
The National Institutes of Health writes, "Bacterial infections that were treatable for decades are no longer responding to antibiotics, even the newer ones," says Dr. Dennis Dixon, an NIH expert in bacterial and fungal diseases.
Scientists have been trying to keep ahead of newly emerging drug-resistant bacteria by developing new drugs, but it's a tough task.
"We need to make the best use of the drugs we have, as there aren't many in the antibiotic development pipeline," says Dr. Jane Knisely, who oversees studies of drug-resistant bacteria at NIH.
"It's important to understand the best way to use these drugs to increase their effectiveness and decrease the chances of resistance to emerge."
You can help slow the spread of drug-resistant bacteria by taking antibiotics properly and only when needed. Don't insist on an antibiotic if your health care provider advises otherwise. For example, many parents expect doctors to prescribe antibiotics for a child's ear infection. But experts recommend delaying for a time in certain situations, as many ear infections get better without antibiotics. (Excerpted from News In Health, a publication of the National Institutes of Health.)
Rita Gorenberg from Oakland-based Clorox describes the constant battle with superbugs Their signature bleach product kills 99.9 percent of common household germs and is used worldwide for serious disinfecting, including around Ebola outbreaks.
She says "Clorox continually works with the EPA around disinfecting claims related to new product launches and on additional testing for new bugs as they appear. "
