News
‘Superbug’ patient treated at MGH
Loading ...A person infected with a “superbug’’ that is sparking fears around the world was treated earlier this year in a Massachusetts hospital, disease trackers said yesterday. The patient had recently traveled from India, a hot spot for the germ, which is immune to many common antibiotics.
The patient was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and isolated, a measure that prevented the germ from spreading, said Dr. David Hooper, chief of the hospital’s infection control unit.
“You’ve got to always be vigilant,’’ Hooper said. “We are concerned, not alarmed. With good infection control and following guidelines, they can be held at bay.’’
A medical officer at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Massachusetts patient survived, as did the only other two US patients with infections blamed on the superbug, which appears to have been contained.
All three patients developed urinary tract infections that carried a genetic feature that made their cases harder to treat.
Known by the medical shorthand NDM-1 — it stands for New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase — the gene allows bacteria to escape some of the strongest antibiotics available, a process known as drug resistance.
“It leaves treating physicians with few treatment options,’’ said Dr. Alex Kallen, a CDC officer.
Continue Reading at The Boston Globe.
You might also like
|
|
|
|
|
