
Dangerous Superbugs Continue to Evolve and Spread More Than Previously Thought
Researchers from Massachusetts have found that carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae have more genetic traits that enable antibiotic-resistance than previously thought and these traits are easily transferred among species.
As reports of superbugs—bacteria that are resistant to most, if not all antibiotics—continue to pop up around the world, scientists continue to learn about these dangerous pathogens. New research out of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University, is particularly troubling as scientists have found that a family of superbugs, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), may actually be spreading more than experts previously thought.
According to a recent
What makes these findings particularly alarming is that they “suggest that CRE is more widespread than previously thought, that it may well be transmitting from person to person asymptomatically.” Indeed,
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CRE infections account for 9,300 infections and 600 deaths in the United States each year, and, as indicated in the press release, “Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, has called these 'nightmare bacteria' because they are resistant to some of the last-ditch treatments available to doctors battling resistant infections.”
Perhaps even more alarming than the findings of genetic diversity among the species of CRE is the fact that the researchers found “resistance mechanisms that hadn't been seen before—implying that there are more to be discovered.” As such the researchers note that their findings “highlight the need for vigilance in searching for as yet unknown forms of resistance as they evolve and emerge.”
CRE infections are not just confined to the United States. Recent
Additionally,
Measures to stop these infections from occurring in the first place are also of utmost importance. According to the
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