Superbug infections are on the rise in California hospitals, but health officials fear the nosocomial spread is not confined to the Golden State.
The antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRKP, has skyrocketed from only a handful of first cases recorded last fall to more than 350 cases in California hospitals and nursing homes, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. Infections have been reported in New York and North Carolina health facilities as well.
So far, the germ has shown up only in clinical settings, and isn't expected to move into the community, according to former CDC official and physician Richard Besser. The main vector for transmission is clinicians passing it from patient to patient, Besser told ABC News.
The superbug infection isn't hazardous to healthy individuals, but has an up to 40 percent fatality rate among the elderly and patients with other serious illnesses. The bug can cause severe urinary tract, respiratory and other infections, and is resistant to nearly all antibiotics except colistin, which can cause severe kidney damage, according to a report yesterday from Third Age.
"It's like an arms race and in many cases, the germs are winning," Besser said.
For more:
- read the L.A. Now blog post
- watch the ABC News video
- here's the Third Age article
- check out the NBC Los Angeles article