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posted by martyb on Sunday January 13 2019, @12:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-Hepatitus-A,-ruuun dept.

According to the CDC a suberbug acquired during bariatric surgery in Tijuana just got worse.

The superbug that infected nearly a dozen Americans who recently underwent weight-loss surgery at a Tijuana hospital had a particularly nasty genetic mutation that set off alarm bells after patients began showing up in hospitals and doctors officers[sic] with painful wounds.

Pseudomonas is a common bacteria found normally in the environment the world over and generally poses little threat unless you have a weakened immune system or are sick.

Dr. David “Cal” Ham, a CDC medical officer, said Friday that the particular strain of pseudomonus bacteria involved in 11 confirmed cases had metallo-beta lactamase genes. Often called “VIM” by the epidemiological community, Ham explained that these genes cause the microbes that carry them to excrete enzymes that destroy carbapenems, a workhorse class of antibiotics with some of the broadest efficacy in medicine.

One patient has died, some have recovered, and others

are still in hospitals suffering as doctors work down a dwindling list of available options.

Dr. Ham added

“Several of the isolates involved are susceptible only to a couple of, I would say, less-than-optimal antibiotics that have significant side effect profiles.”

The pseudomonus strains in question were already drug resistant, adding the ability to ward off carbapenems makes the already serious threat even more deadly.

The inexorable decline of antibiotics continues.


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday January 13 2019, @02:09AM (4 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday January 13 2019, @02:09AM (#785746) Homepage

    In Border California, our medical insurance is accepted by a lot of practitioners in Mex. I would use that option if I needed braces or a teeth-cleaning (hint: I do) or easy access to Viagra and opiates (I don't) but when it comes to something invasive I'll stay domestic, thank you very much. I've seen the movie Turistas and would also rather avoid the stray gunshots, corrupt cops, and pickpockets.

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 13 2019, @05:45AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 13 2019, @05:45AM (#785810)

    You'll probably keep your kidney too then ;)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 13 2019, @01:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 13 2019, @01:10PM (#785886)

    but i thought even the likes of rush limbaugh benefitted from above-normal doses of Viagra?

    maybe you are more manly than rush.

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday January 13 2019, @10:36PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 13 2019, @10:36PM (#786071) Journal

    would also rather avoid the stray gunshots, corrupt cops, and pickpockets.

    I've never thought of Eth as some kind of fucking sissy. All that shit just adds local color. Oh - wait - can I still say that? Is "local color" racist now?

    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 14 2019, @05:41PM

      by Freeman (732) on Monday January 14 2019, @05:41PM (#786513) Journal

      At the least it's probably not PC.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"