Superbugs are the three horsemen of the post-antibiotic apocalypse, and they do the most harm where people go to get well—hospitals.
Superbugs lurk in the crevices of devices that made surgeries and diagnostic procedures safer and less invasive. For now, the worst superbug, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), is confined to hospitals and other medical facilities. If it escaped into the community, we would be a step closer to a post-antibiotic world.
Recently, at the UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, CA, seven patients were infected and two were killed by a deadly bacterial outbreak of CRE, also known as a “superbug,” stated Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-CA-33). The hospital is in his district. He wants Congress to hold a hearing about sterilization failures that led to patients becoming infected during medical procedures. To Lieu, and to President Barack Obama, superbugs are a threat to national security.
“Addressing the problems posed by duodenoscope-linked superbug outbreaks is one step forward in combating the health and national security threats posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” wrote Congressman Lieu. “I call upon the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to fully investigate these life and death issues.”
About half the people who are infected with CRE die from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
