At the End of the Antibiotic Rope

Safe Health Care, CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, has reported the rapid, seven-fold increase in the number of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a lethal infection. Up to 50 percent of the patients who acquire this infection will die, as there are few, if any, antibiotics that are effective in treating this. Researchers believe it will be years before antibiotics to treat CRE are successfully developed. CRE is primarily hospital acquired, and moves through the health care continuum as the patients are transferred between settings, creating the potential for widespread regional transmission of CRE.

The CDC has mapped out specific guidelines that, when followed, can halt CRE infections before they become widespread in medical facilities and before they spread to otherwise healthy people in our communities. They have also provided toolboxes for initiating a prevention program in your facility.

Contact: Susan Bartholomew, sbartholomew@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8850