“Nightmare” Bacteria

 Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found in 27 States.  More than 200 rare antibiotic-resistant genes found in 2017, and were labeled “nightmare” bacteria.  Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC  was surprised by the numbers  found.

Report focused on the highly resistant germs that have not yet spread. Schuchat informed “Two million American get infections from antibiotic resistance, and 23,000 die from those infections each year”.

Some of these tests were done on antibiotic-resistant germs . The CDC found that about one in four had a gene that helped spread its resistance. About 221 germs were found containing an “especially rare resistance gene.”

Schuchat stated that a follow up screening showed that nearly one in every ten contacts tested positive, “meaning the unusual resistance had spread to other patients and could have continued spreading if left undetected,”.  It is yet to be found out , how frequently “asymptomatic carriers” spread disease to uninfected people.

The 221 rare genes  that were studied from infection samples in 27 different states, including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and bloodstream infections.