Antibiotic resistance is not a new phenomenon in the world of treatment for diseases caused by bacteria. Mutations that result in immune bacteria to antibiotics are common so enough that if the disease is not eradicated completely in each patient, the pathogens that are left (and capable to infect new patients) are resistant to most common antibiotics. Increasing year on year, this resistance may seem like a minor inconvenience now, an accident that for most patients simply implies using another antibiotic. But long term, threatens to completely end the era of antibiotics, reducing its effectiveness to the point that any antibiotic currently in use can be used to cure diseases.
One of our last reserves against such pathogens is the Carbapenem, reserved for the most advanced medical centers and used only as a last resort antibiotic. Extremely powerful, this is one of the few remaining antibiotics that can eradicate pathogens that are resistant to most other antibiotics, and thus cure a disease that would otherwise have a high incidence of mortality. The problem occurs when bacteria develop mutations that make them resistant to carbapenem; many of these have proliferated outside hospitals with the capacity to address the problem, called CRE for its acronym in English.
Since 2008, the numbers of CRE cases in small and not specialized hospitals have multiplied five times. The total numbers are still small relative to other diseases, being detected only 1.4 cases per 100,000 patients.
However, the pace at which these infections are increasing is alarming given the danger posed by these infections. They are not only difficult to detect but more than half of infected patients die as a direct result of infection; there are only one or two drugs with varying degrees of effectiveness in combat, and come with severe side effects. For now, hope lies entirely on the hospitals ability to prevent the escape of confirmed pathogens, and to communicate to the public the importance of moderate use of antibiotics to prevent the emergence of more resistant bacteria.
Through: www.wired.com
