Lately there have been stories on the news about a "superbug" that has infected many patients in hospitals across the country, even killing some of them. One news station reports on a case in Birmingham, Alabama, where 19 people were infected in 6 different hospitals; 9 of them were killed. A superbug is a type of bacteria infection that is resistant to antibiotics, the classic example being MRSA. Currently the most infected region of the country is around Los Angeles, California. In the Alabama case, health officials discovered that the outbreak was linked to a batch of IV bags produced by Meds IV in Birmingham. The IV was fed directly into the bloodstream of hospital patients, and the resulting infection was caused by serratia marcescens, "a bacteria that typically strikes patients with a compromised immune system." This is not the first time an outbreak of superbugs has occurred. Five years ago, a similar outbreak spread through hospitals in both California and New Jersey. The bacteria can be treated if caught early. This superbug is strong though, causing 60% of all infections in ICUs across the country.
I found this article not only interesting but also scary. I had never heard of the outbreak 5 years ago, so this was new to me. I had first heard the story on 6ABC news, but couldn't find their online article. It scared me because my boyfriend is currently stationed in southern California, merely 2 hours away from Los Angeles, which is said to be the most infected region. I hope they can figure out a cure to this soon.
It's scary to think that when you go to a hospital to get better you could end up getting a superbug, and die! I think from all the drugs we use to attack infections makes all the bacterias even stronger....where we're heading doesn't look good.
ReplyDeleteSo, if I understand this correctly this new case of superbugs was because of a hospital's negligence? Wow, that is just plain old scary. See, I knew I hated hospitals!
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