New "superbug" in UK hospitals

scorza · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:29

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10925411

So basically this new antibiotic resistant enzyme has been found in UK hospitals after being brought back from people treated in India and Pakistan. I didn't realise there were antibiotics for MRSA, but even these are resisted by bugs with the new enzyme, so where do we go from here?

Keep an eye on this one, I remember with MRSA I thought it was just media scaremongering until practically everyone I knew who went into hospital came out with an MRSA infection. It wasn't until The Sun (of all newspapers) did a massive campaign on the people affected that we started treating it seriously.

As an aside, on the news last night it was pretty shocking to see an Indian "pharmacy" (it looked more like a mobile burger van) selling antibiotics to all and sundry without a prescription. Apparently it's very common that Indians will not complete a course of antibiotics which is why these new superbugs are coming from the sub-continent. Surely this sort of irresponsibility cannot be tolerated by the international community, it affects us all so surely we must insist on the control and regulation of these drugs around the world.

Greenlizard0 · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:32

Antibiotics for MRSA? It's only resistant to methicillin? You then test it further in order to detect vulnerabilities.

Idiot BBC reporting said:
NDM-1 can exist inside different bacteria, like E.coli, and it makes them resistant to one of the most powerful groups of antibiotics - carbapenems.

These are generally reserved for use in emergencies and to combat hard-to-treat infections caused by other multi-resistant bacteria.

As said above, just because you have a bacteria resistant to a 'top of the pyramid' drug, doesn't always, and usually doesn't confer that it'll be resistant to those drugs classed lower than it.

Blame the level of hygiene in this country as to why hospital bourne infections are common.

Heliospherez · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:39

It's scaremongering. Plain and simple. And if the other news organisations make a big deal about it - it will be another money generating panic like swine flu.

"Although there have only been about 50 cases identified in the UK so far"

"For some of the patients the infection was mild, while others were seriously ill, and some with blood poisoning"

In fact - how many actually died ? Does it actually say anywhere ? And over what timeframe have they identified the 50 cases ? The last 2 years, 5 years or 10 years ? The lanct report also states that the bacteria was killed by 2 different antibiotics - so the BBC's "resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics" is a load of rubbish.

In the last 2 years alone - over 50 people in the UK have died of Chicken Pox. Why don't they make a big deal about that - considering there is a vaccine that can prevent it.

Ceryndrion · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:41

Personally, I suspect that we have, as a culture, spent too much time cleaning and disinfecting, that our immune systems are generally compromised. Yes things need to be clean, but the more we clean, the more vulnerable we are, those little bugs, the ones that are easy to wipe away, are the ones that our immune systems need in order to maintain a proper ready state. So that when these 'superbugs' show up, we can fight them off. But no, we insist on disinfecting and wiping away 99% of all all known germs. And that will just lead to trouble.

Greenlizard0 · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:43

You also have to consider things like if people are in hospital than they're ill, not just flu, I mean ill. Or old or in an at risk group.

Chances are if they were then about to croak it from an infection, then it usually doesn't always matter what bacteria's inside them.

edscdk · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:45

Greenlizard0 said:
Blame the level of hygiene in this country as to why hospital bourne infections are common.

ban visitors to hospitals thats gotta be a major factor...

edscdk · 12 Aug 2010 at 08:48

Ceryndrion said:
Personally, I suspect that we have, as a culture, spent too much time cleaning and disinfecting, that our immune systems are generally compromised. Yes things need to be clean, but the more we clean, the more vulnerable we are, those little bugs, the ones that are easy to wipe away, are the ones that our immune systems need in order to maintain a proper ready state. So that when these 'superbugs' show up, we can fight them off. But no, we insist on disinfecting and wiping away 99% of all all known germs. And that will just lead to trouble.

I agree I hate all those ads that say you must disinfect your kitchen... total madness...