Story by Monica Robins
CLEVELAND — Health officials are worried about a silent threat lurking in hospitals and nursing homes. A deadly superbug known as CRE.
“CRE stands for carbopenemaise resistant enterobacterioacea and what that means is it’s not just one germ. It’s a family of germs that are causing the problem,” says Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital’s Dr. Frank Esper.
Carbapenem is one of the most potent antibiotics available but it can’t fight CRE and the fatality rate is already 50 percent. Ironically, these germs have always been in us.
“Normal germs that most people have in their guts but have become resistant over time because of repeated exposure to antibiotics these get resistant,” Dr. Esper says.
But once the immune system is compromised, they attack.
“Then, if given the chance, these normal germs can escape the gut and cause disease elsewhere at which point in time it’s very difficult to treat because we don’t have very many antibiotics that work anymore,” Dr. Esper says.
CRE’s been found in 42 states, including Ohio.
Infection control is key and that starts with frequent handwashing. Every hospital employee and visitor should wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before entering your hospital room.
For your own protection, bring disinfectant wipes and clean surfaces, such as telephones, TV remotes, bed handles and door knobs.
Many hospitals and nursing homes are testing patients before admission to see if they’re already infected and, if so, isolating them from others.