Fresh warnings about deaths from drug-resistant bacteria

Next time your doctor prescribes an antibiotic, consider the possibility that it won’t help. Each year, at least two million people in the U.S. get an infection that is resistant to antibiotics. Thousands die and many others get complications. It’s prompted a warning from world health leaders.

The head of the Centers for Disease Control, Tom Frieden, recently spoke of a deadly bacterial infection, linked to health care facilities that is resistant to most antibiotics and can spread its resistance to other bacteria. It’s called Carbapenem resistant enterobacteriaceae, or “CRE.”

“CRE could be the beginning of the end of antibiotics for some bacteria,” warned Frieden.

Humans are speeding up the evolution of bacteria that pass on resistant genes to other bacteria. We misuse antibiotics, for things like viral infections. Frieden said we need better guidelines for use of antibiotics.

“Doctors need to prescribe antibiotics very carefully to preserve these life-saving drugs for as long as possible,” he said.

A report from the World Health Organization underscores the global nature of the crisis. Drug resistant bacteria is being transmitted through human contact, in water and food.

Guy Palmer, a professor of infectious disease and director of Washington State University’s Paul Allen Center for Global Animal Health said there has to be a universal solution for this problem.

“There can’t be a solution just for Seattle. Because of the movement of people, food, what happens in an urban slum in Mumbai is as important as what happens in Harborview (Hospital),” said Palmer.

Some people think they’re immune to this crisis as long as they don’t misuse antibiotics.

“And that’s just simply not true,” said Palmer. “There is so much environmental contamination with antibiotic resistant bacteria, whether it’s through salad, food, water or just common contact with surfaces, whether it’s in a gymnasium, a work place, an airport.”

Palmer said there are things we can do to slow the impact of this phenomenon.

“A lot of it is good common sense, good public health in terms of improving our vaccination regimen, making sure of a clean environment, water quality is important,” Palmer explained.

If you’re vaccinated for the flu, it means you’re less likely to get an infection that turns into bacterial pneumonia, for example, said Palmer.

Because this crisis is not associated with a high profile outbreak, Palmer said the threat of drug-resistant antibiotics has sneaked up on our consciousness, despite the thousands of lives it has cost.

“But those tend to occur as singular events and therefore sometimes they’re kind of neglected in our understanding of the magnitude of the problem,” he said.

Palmer thinks the World Health Organization warning, along with hard data, serves as an alarm bell. “The WHO report has been very influential in bringing together that, yes, individually these look like individual tragedies but when you look at them collectively, this is really a major global health issue.”

A press release from WHO warned that the world could be “Headed for a post-antibiotic era in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill.”