Reports of rare superbug jump in US, CDC says

[Katashi_itto]

1. Sorry we can't do anything because of the Sequester. The Virus Spreads and finally explodes...

World ends due to Republicans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbapenem_resistant_enterobacteriaceae

Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae is a family of gram-negative bacterium that are nearly immune to the carbapenem class of antibiotics, considered the "drug of last resort" for such infections. Death rates of up to 40% can be seen in patients, a rate much higher than other resistant infections such as MRSA or C. diff.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, CRE was first noticed in a North Carolina hospital in 2001. Since that time, it has spread to health care facilities in 41 other states. Studies showed that 3% of patients in Chicago-area ICUs carried CRE.[1] The same data indicated a 30% infection rate in long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes), though not all patients are symptomatic. There is no billing code for CRE under Medicare or Medicaid, making it difficult to track on a national level in the U.S.

Experts fear CRE as the new "superbug" Enterobacteria are common commensals and infectious agents seen in hospitals, clinics, surgical centers and rehabilitation facilities. Some media portray CRE as virtually untreatable.[1]

One method that has been found effective is to screen and isolate incoming patients from other facilities, and renewed focus on hand-washing. Since antibiotics are not as profitable for drug companies to produce — once treated, patients no longer need the drug, as opposed to chronic illnesses in which the patient takes the drug indefinitely — it is thought unlikely that a new antibiotic to fight CRE will be developed in the near future.[1]

Profit based defense...yet another reason why the Govt needs to take over Healthcare.