Superbug

Haley Cooney

January, 2016

What is a Superbug?

Superbug is an informal term for bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics usually used to treat it.

Every year, it kills thousands of people, sickens millions and costs billions of dollars. It affects hospitals and families, schools and prisons, children and seniors, and now even our farms, livestock and food.

How did we get here? For nearly a century, bacteria-fighting drugs

known as antibiotics have helped to control and destroy many of the harmful bacteria that can make us sick.

In recent decades, antibiotics have been losing their punch against some types of bacteria. In fact, certain bacteria are now unbeatable with today’s medicines.

Sadly, the way we’ve been using antibiotics is helping to create new drug-resistant “superbugs.”

Exposure to bacteria occurs

Infection occurs and the bacteria

spread

Drug treatment is used

What happens with infection?

Antibiotics don’t always make

you better

When used properly, antibiotics can help destroy

disease-causing bacteria.

But if you take an antibiotic when you have a viral

infection like the flu, the drug won’t affect the viruses

making you sick.

Instead, it’ll destroy a wide variety of bacteria in your

body, including some of the “good” bacteria that help

you digest food, fight infection, and stay healthy.

Bacteria that are tough enough to survive the drug will

have a chance to grow and quickly multiply. These

drug-resistant strains may even spread to other people.

Hospital are one of the biggest

threats

You might think being in the hospital is

safe…WRONG

Some of the most dangerous superbugs

have been confined to health care

settings.

That’s because people who are sick or in

a weakened state are more likely to pick

up infections.

Deadly Superbugs Lurking in

Hospitals

MRSA -- Methicillin Resistant

Staphylococcus Aureus is

one of the most recognized

superbugs around. Since it is very difficult

to treat, it can be deadly. It is associated

with urinary tract infections, bone and

joint infection and can result in ruptured

abscesses which are difficult to heal. It has

been identified in health care settings,

homes, locker rooms, gyms and schools. Mortality Rate: About 35%.

Deadly Superbugs Lurking in

Hospitals

Resistant Streptococcus is a

flesh eating bacteria infects

when surgery or deep wounds

are exposed to germs on the skin.

Thousands of people every year become

infected by Strep A, which releases toxins

that can shut down organs. But others are

infected with the strain that turns into flesh

eating disease. The fastest way to stop it is

to cut the skin off.

Mortality Rate: About 28%.

Deadly Superbugs Lurking in

Hospitals

Resistant Klebsiella Pneumonia

most famous strain of this

bacteria is also the newest and

most feared: NDM-1 and is often associated

with extremely difficult to treat blood stream

infections, surgical site infections and

meningitis. It has a high mortality rate even

with appropriate therapy. The rate goes up

even more for individuals with alcoholism and

bacteria in the blood.

Mortality Rate: over 50%.

Real Cases Pearl Gelman, 91, was admitted

to a Florida hospital with bronchitis symptoms

She couldn't get antibiotics through her arms because the veins were very bad, so they had to do it through the neck

The hospital called for permission to replace the central line. She was getting weaker and weaker, and then they said she had the MRSA

And it was just downhill. She couldn't fight back. She died at the hospital.

Real Cases In Los Angeles, seven patients contracted carbapenem-

resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) after routine

endoscopic procedures.

CRE are a type of bacteria that are highly resistant to

many antibiotics. They have earned the name "killer

bacteria" and "nightmare bacteria“.

Two of the patients died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA

Medical Center. CRE was a contributing factor in the

deaths.

Hospital officials there have said the

outbreak was caused by two

medical scopes that still carried the

deadly bacteria even though

disinfection guidelines were followed.

Hospital Checklist Detecting, preventing and controlling antibiotic resistance

requires coordinated efforts. To support the President’s Executive

Order and the White House’s National Strategy to Combat

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria each hospital is required to post

instructions to address the threat in these four areas:

Hand Hygiene

Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs)

Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs)

Respiratory Viruses

Ways you can help to block

harmful bacteria Wash your hands often with soap and water, or

use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

If you’re sick, make sure your doctor has a clear understanding of your symptoms. Discuss whether an antibiotic or a different type of treatment is appropriate for your illness.

If antibiotics are needed, take the full course exactly as directed. Don’t save the medicine for a future illness, and don’t share with others.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle—including proper diet, exercise, and good hygiene—to help prevent illness, thereby helping to prevent the overuse or misuse of medications.