Its scary to think that doctors cannot always come up with the cure for our ailments. Now it is being brought to our attention that a bacterial infection has been spreading in the U.S since 2001. So far doctors have not been able to find one line of treatment that will kill the bacteria once it has entered the blood stream.  Even worse, the spread of the infection has accelerated, leading some within the public health community to panic.

This bacteria cannot be killed with any antibiotics. Doctors have even tried what are referred to as ‘last resort drugs’ to kill it but have found their efforts to be unsuccessful. In a hospital in Charlottesville, VA the bacteria ultimately took the life of a patient after doctors tried everything to stop the infection. The bacteria also managed to spread to others in the hospital.

This bacteria has spread in hospitals and nursing homes in the last decade without any success at destroying it. Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, gets its name from being able to fight off carbapenem antibiotics. Carbapenem antibiotics are the last in the line of antibiotic defense that doctors have available. CRE has been attacking weak patients in hospitals and nursing homes whose immune systems cannot fight it.

So far the death rate of CRE patients is up to 40 percent. In the last few years, there have been thousands of CRE cases. Doctors are working on protocols that will stop the spread of CRE. As of now, many believe that the biggest threat to a patient’s safety is this bacteria. The bacteria has managed to spread to 41 states so far and without a cure it is likely to spread to more places.

– Techyville