Fresh warning on hospital bugs
Thursday November 20th, 2008
Experts have identified another common bug that is developing resistance to drugs and threatening hospital care.
A new analysis cites Acinetobacter baumannii as a growing threat.
Experts from Greece say as many as 30 per cent of instances of infection are turning out to involve drug-resistant strains.
The bug is found in soil and food and like other problem bugs in hospitals poses a risk to seriously ill patients.
The study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases says resistance rates to carbapenem antibiotics have risen fast in some areas - and another drug sulbactam is also losing its effectiveness against these strains.
Authors Professor Matthew Falagas and Dr Drosos Karageorgopoulos, Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Athens, Greece, say incidence of the infection has increased in the last few decades - possibly because of improvements in critical care.
The journal is planning a conference on healthcare infections next month in London.
Editor John McConnell said: "Modern medicine faces few greater challenges than that of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). In the UK, one of the worst-affected countries in Europe, HAIs are estimated to cost the National Health Service at least £1 billion per year.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 8, Issue 12, Pages 751 - 762, December 2008
Tags: Europe | MRSA & Hygiene
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