SoylentNews

RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

According to the CDC a suberbug acquired during bariatric surgery in Tiuana [sandiegouniontribune.com] 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 [webmd.com]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.

Original Submission