Woman dies from bacteria resistant to all forms of antibiotic

steddyeddy

The woman died from a a form of multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae. In other words there was nothing doctors could do to save her. To quote a line from the article "Many doctors, dentists, farmers and animal caretakers continue to overuse antibiotics, leading to more and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Infections are very, very, very common". It's also down to the exclusive nature of the American health care service. If you make it harder for some people to access treatment then there's an increased likelihood that people will act as reservoirs for bacteria that can continue to mutate. IMHO, in order to combat this you'll need to treat everyone with certain bacterial infections and there may need to be controls on what doctors can prescribe. Article from Forbes if anyone' interested.

Welcome to the future...a bad future. In September 2016, a female in her 70s died from an infection caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), bacteria that was resistant to all available antibiotics. Yes, resistant to all available antibiotics. Yes, doctors could do nothing to stop her infection. Yes, a bad infection from such bacteria can kill you no matter how rich or famous you are, what apps you have on your phone or social media sites you frequent, what kind of walls you build, how many nuclear weapons you have or how many other medications, procedures, herbs, supplements, chiropractic adjustments, face lifts, cupping sessions, urine drinks, leech treatments, cryotherapy sessions or massages you get. This is the first appearance in the U.S. of such an uber-resistant bacteria (meaning resistant to all antibiotics and not to drivers and cars for hire.) Yes, more and more will appear in the future. No, this is not trending on Twitter or Facebook. No, this is not getting nearly as much attention as the seemingly science-resistant anti-vaccine talk. Why, then, aren't more people taking this seriously and making the urgent changes needed?

Nevada health officials Lei Chen, Ph.D., Randall Todd, Dr.P.H., and Julia Kiehlbauch, Ph.D., and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials Maroya Walters, Ph.D., and Alexander Kallen, M.D., described the case and events in a recent issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The woman had broken her right leg during a trip to India, struggled with repeated right hip infections while there and then, after her return to the U.S., was admitted to a hospital in the Reno, Nevada, area on August 18 when her infection had progressed to affect her entire body. The CRE found to be causing in the infection was resistant to 26 antibiotics, including all aminoglycosides and polymyxins tested. With no effective antibiotics available, she eventually went into septic shock and died.

Consider this latest case yet another warning to society. Scientists and public health officials have been trying to get the attention of policy makers, investors, pharmaceutical companies and the public. Many public health officials, including CDC Director Tom Frieden, have called CRE the "phantom menace." Our RHEA computational modeling work published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has shown how CRE will continue to spread more and more throughout hospitals and nursing homes, unless something changes.

Once again, we are losing the war against bacteria. New antibiotic development is just not keeping pace with the emergence of new antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. As I mentioned previously when a colistin-resistant bacterial strain appeared in Pennsylvania last year, a Pew Charitable Trust report found that too few antibiotics are under development, and a majority of antibiotics are being developed by small companies, not big pharmaceutical companies. Many big pharmaceutical companies are just not stepping up to the challenge. Many doctors, dentists, farmers and animal caretakers continue to overuse antibiotics, leading to more and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Infections are very, very, very common. You will in all likelihood get an infection that requires antibiotics at some point in your life. What if the next time you get an infection, nothing works against it...and thus you're out of luck?


The Phantom Menace bacteria, Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), is spreading and our society is running out of antibiotics. Does everyone realize how bad this is? (Melissa Brower/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP)

Welcome to the future...a bad future. In September 2016, a female in her 70s died from an infection caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), bacteria that was resistant to all available antibiotics. Yes, resistant to all available antibiotics. Yes, doctors could do nothing to stop her infection. Yes, a bad infection from such bacteria can kill you no matter how rich or famous you are, what apps you have on your phone or social media sites you frequent, what kind of walls you build, how many nuclear weapons you have or how many other medications, procedures, herbs, supplements, chiropractic adjustments, face lifts, cupping sessions, urine drinks, leech treatments, cryotherapy sessions or massages you get. This is the first appearance in the U.S. of such an uber-resistant bacteria (meaning resistant to all antibiotics and not to drivers and cars for hire.) Yes, more and more will appear in the future. No, this is not trending on Twitter or Facebook. No, this is not getting nearly as much attention as the seemingly science-resistant anti-vaccine talk. Why, then, aren't more people taking this seriously and making the urgent changes needed?

Nevada health officials Lei Chen, Ph.D., Randall Todd, Dr.P.H., and Julia Kiehlbauch, Ph.D., and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials Maroya Walters, Ph.D., and Alexander Kallen, M.D., described the case and events in a recent issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The woman had broken her right leg during a trip to India, struggled with repeated right hip infections while there and then, after her return to the U.S., was admitted to a hospital in the Reno, Nevada, area on August 18 when her infection had progressed to affect her entire body. The CRE found to be causing in the infection was resistant to 26 antibiotics, including all aminoglycosides and polymyxins tested. With no effective antibiotics available, she eventually went into septic shock and died.

Consider this latest case yet another warning to society. Scientists and public health officials have been trying to get the attention of policy makers, investors, pharmaceutical companies and the public. Many public health officials, including CDC Director Tom Frieden, have called CRE the "phantom menace." Our RHEA computational modeling work published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has shown how CRE will continue to spread more and more throughout hospitals and nursing homes, unless something changes.

Once again, we are losing the war against bacteria. New antibiotic development is just not keeping pace with the emergence of new antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. As I mentioned previously when a colistin-resistant bacterial strain appeared in Pennsylvania last year, a Pew Charitable Trust report found that too few antibiotics are under development, and a majority of antibiotics are being developed by small companies, not big pharmaceutical companies. Many big pharmaceutical companies are just not stepping up to the challenge. Many doctors, dentists, farmers and animal caretakers continue to overuse antibiotics, leading to more and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Infections are very, very, very common. You will in all likelihood get an infection that requires antibiotics at some point in your life. What if the next time you get an infection, nothing works against it...and thus you're out of luck?

Will the efforts of Robert Kennedy Jr. consume time, effort, and taxpayer money that could have been directed to developing more antibiotics and controlling the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

Why isn't there more urgency and action? Where was the mention about the lack of antibiotic development during the Presidential election? Where are the tweets? We hear about the possibility of a vaccine and autism panel led by Robert Kennedy, Jr., who as Seth Mnookin describes in Scientific American, has promoted anti-vaccine propaganda for more than a decade, when there is no scientific evidence linking vaccines to autism. Yet, there's no talk among the incoming administration about forming a similar panel to address antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the lack of antibiotic development. Will a vaccine and autism panel waste taxpayers' money and time while antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to spread and gain strength?

Taking on vaccines in an unscientific manner when antibiotic-resistant bacteria is spreading would be like fighting against your coaching staff and cheerleaders when you really should be worrying about your opponent on the football field. Remember the first three Star Wars prequels, Episodes I though III (I know, you may not want to remember them), which started with the Phantom Menace, when everyone fought the wrong opponents while the Emperor and the Dark Side quietly took control? Well, folks, that's what may be happening now.

PucaMama

The world needs lower antibiotics treatment going on, not mass treatment of everyone carrying certain bacteria. That's what causes resistance.

CRE (the bacteria thought to be responsible for this woman's death) is already in Ireland. CRE,VRE all are already here waiting to infect the vulnerable.

It's simply a combination of over use and natural evolution of bacteria.

Graces7

Up to each of us to stop using abs for so many lesser infections. And to drs to stop prescriibing so many.

ScumLord

One 70 year old woman died, how was she the only person to become infected with it? Is it a case that a 20 year old woman wouldn't have died?

PucaMama

ScumLord wrote: »

One 70 year old woman died, how was she the only person to become infected with it? Is it a case that a 20 year old woman wouldn't have died?

Older people are more susceptible to infection (usually) and infections are often worse due to their failing immune system

Hande hoche!

Forbes getting in the Star Wars references.

whiskeyman

Time to crack open each others skulls and feast on the goo inside Ken...

PucaMama

Graces7 wrote: »

Up to each of us to stop using abs for so many lesser infections. And to drs to stop prescriibing so many.

It's not even just over use it's incorrect use. Currently I'm on antibiotics for a very bad chest infection. Antibiotics are a suitable treatment and I don't take them often. I will (hopefully) start feeling good again soon and I'd be tempted to stop taking them because antibiotics generally make me feel sick by themselves anyway but doing this would be contributing to antibiotic resistance.

steddyeddy

ScumLord wrote: »

One 70 year old woman died, how was she the only person to become infected with it? Is it a case that a 20 year old woman wouldn't have died?

If a more aggressive bacteria evolved then yes. It has plenty of space to evolve now seeing as there's no way to kill it.

VinLieger

Its time to accept we lost this fight years ago, all the talk of stopping using antibitotics for needless things is far too late, we need to invest in whatever the next antibiotics is going to be and do it fast

steddyeddy

VinLieger wrote: »

Its time to accept we lost this fight years ago, all the talk of stopping using antibitotics for needless things is far too late, we need to invest in whatever the next antibiotics is going to be and do it fast

It's not profitable to research antibiotics. It would need government funding.

FrancieBrady

Is 'everyone' now immune to AB or will they still work on those who barely used them?

*Thinly veiled 'will I survive?' post.

VinLieger

steddyeddy wrote: »

It's not profitable to research antibiotics. It would need government funding.

Ohh I know so lets get onto whatever the next antibiotics type cure is, we should still be allocating government funding to antibiotics to tide us over but we need medical advancements in a new direction too as antibiotics is ultimately a dead end no matter how much money you throw at it

VinLieger

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Is 'everyone' now immune to AB or will they still work on those who barely used them?

*Thinly veiled 'will I survive?' post.

Its not that your immune its that we've all used them so much so that the diseases are immune to the antibiotics

FrancieBrady

Ray Darcy gonna be discussing this shortly

ScumLord

PucaMama wrote: »

Older people are more susceptible to infection (usually) and infections are often worse due to their failing immune system

A 70 year old dying is bad and all but it's not unexpected. Once you get to that age it's only a matter of time before something gets you.

I'd be more alarmed if they were saying a 20 year old died.

PucaMama

steddyeddy wrote: »

It's not profitable to research antibiotics. It would need government funding.

This will be our downfall. It's not "on trend" to push the government here to research antibiotics. Or anything other than the modern snake oil that is cannabis oil. It's claimed to cure everything from cancer to seizures!

Also people are madly against vaccines. Think of how many are getting antibiotics wrongly for infections because they didn't get the flu vaccine. I saw the comments on Facebook every time the HSE advertised it. It's like conspiracy theories have become hugely contagious diseases by themselves.

FrancieBrady

VinLieger wrote: »

Its not that your immune its that we've all used them so much so that the diseases are immune to the antibiotics

BUT BUT, I would have used them maybe twice/three times in my life. Mid fifties. Why ME???

PucaMama

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Is 'everyone' now immune to AB or will they still work on those who barely used them?

*Thinly veiled 'will I survive?' post.

We aren't immune the bacteria are. So no we are all dead should a deadly enough bacteria evolve

Fratton Fred

steddyeddy wrote: »

It's not profitable to research antibiotics. It would need government funding.

I'd heard this. There is no money in antibiotics, so the pharma industry aren't producing new ones. So we may find the cure to cancer, but we will all die from the flu instead.

ScumLord

PucaMama wrote: »

This will be our downfall. It's not "on trend" to push the government here to research antibiotics. Or anything other than the modern snake oil that is cannabis oil. It's claimed to cure everything from cancer to seizures!

By who?

steddyeddy

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I'd heard this. There is no money in antibiotics, so the pharma industry aren't producing new ones. So we may find the cure to cancer, but we will all die from the flu instead.

Yes Fred. A friend of mine was working on an antibiotics research project for Pfizer and all of a sudden she had her funding and project cut. She wasn't far off finding something new either.

steddyeddy

ScumLord wrote: »

A 70 year old dying is bad and all but it's not unexpected. Once you get to that age it's only a matter of time before something gets you.

I'd be more alarmed if they were saying a 20 year old died.

You should be alarmed. A bacterium that can kill humans has no known treatment. It's not good policy to get alarmed when it's too late to do anything.

pickarooney

Is it not a good thing if more older people die of diseases? Not for them, obviously, but for the environment and the economy.

ceadaoin.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I'd heard this. There is no money in antibiotics, so the pharma industry aren't producing new ones. So we may find the cure to cancer, but we will all die from the flu instead.

Well antibiotics wouldn't be any help against the flu anyway

steddyeddy

pickarooney wrote: »

Is it not a good thing if more older people die of diseases? Not for them, obviously, but for the environment and the economy.

That's the thing, it won't just be old people. Bacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis are becoming resistant too.

SEPT 23 1989

they should stop throwing them around like sweets

PucaMama

ScumLord wrote: »

By who?

what do you mean by who? Do you need a list of names? It's well known people believe that crap.

PucaMama

pickarooney wrote: »

Is it not a good thing if more older people die of diseases? Not for them, obviously, but for the environment and the economy.

It's not just the old that are in danger it's those of us with underlying health issues or the very young too.

jimgoose

steddyeddy wrote: »

Yes Fred. A friend of mine was working on an antibiotics research project for Pfizer and all of a sudden she had her funding and project cut. She wasn't far off finding something new either.

The likes of Pfizer and the rest of them will be cutting their funding when they're slowly expiring of Staphylococcus' T-1000 descendant and shuffling around with the rest of us, like the Wretched waiting for Joe Moore to turn on the water. Ah well, another Golden Arrow destroyed by the cream of "society". :pac::pac::pac:

Yamanoto

We're very close to a point where drug resistant bacteria will impact on everything from routine surgical procedures to how we manage cancer care. The administration of antibiotics to healthy farm animals to prevent infection or as a way of boosting weight gain poses a huge risk to human health.

PucaMama

It's not just the new "superbugs" that are a danger when it comes to antibiotic resistance. All bacteria can and will evolve resistance. When the time comes a simple cut on your hand could mean death from a bacteria that only a couple of years ago would have been treated easily.

dudara

pickarooney wrote: »

Is it not a good thing if more older people die of diseases? Not for them, obviously, but for the environment and the economy.

Once the old are gone, where will the bacteria go next?

I'm not old, but I have potential susceptibility to infections due the fact that I was born with a heart defect. I'm a pretty robust person with good natural defences (I grew up on a farm), and I've only ever needed antibiotics a handful of times in my life. But still... it will only take one infection of the wrong kind.

Don't overuse antibiotics
Finish any course that you start
Don't clean your house to within an inch of its life. A low level of dirt is actually not a bad thing, particularly for children. Exposure to pets and other children is also good, assuming no infectious diseases or allergies. Your immune system is largely formed when you're young.
Get vaccinated and stay healthy. When you are sick, you're susceptible to other cr*p, so don't give infections a chance to come in the door

But ultimately, the simple fact is that new antibiotics are desperately needed.

PucaMama

The world needs to be far more concerned with antibiotic resistance. Someone mentioned flu, a flu pandemic is inevitable but maybe we can win against the antibiotic resistance.

pilly

There's a little bit of hysteria about this whole thing if you ask me. Someone in there 70's could be killed by an type of infection or virus regardless of whether there is an antibiotic that fights it or not, simply because their body is weaker.

PucaMama

pilly wrote: »

There's a little bit of hysteria about this whole thing if you ask me. Someone in there 70's could be killed by an type of infection or virus regardless of whether there is an antibiotic that fights it or not, simply because their body is weaker.

The point is she's not the only person ever to die from a resistant infection. Look at multi drug resistant TB. People of all ages dieing from that.

pilly

PucaMama wrote: »

The point is she's not the only person ever to die from a resistant infection. Look at multi drug resistant TB. People of all ages dieing from that.

Well that's a fair enough point but it wasn't the one made in the opening article.

Robineen

Graces7 wrote: »

Up to each of us to stop using abs for so many lesser infections. And to drs to stop prescriibing so many.

Well, I have no problem with antibiotics being prescribed for any infection that isn't self-limiting, even lesser ones. The problem lies with use of antibiotics where they will be completely ineffective or where the infection will sort itself out.

PucaMama

pilly wrote: »

Well that's a fair enough point but it wasn't the one made in the opening article.

The article is about antibiotic resistance it's not really restricted to 70 year old women

PucaMama

Robineen wrote: »

Well, I have no problem with antibiotics being prescribed for any infection that isn't self-limiting, even lesser ones. The problem lies with use of antibiotics where they will be completely ineffective or where the infection will sort itself out.

The problem with leaving some infections to sort themselves out is that some could get worse rather than get better as expected. A seemingly fit and healthy person gets a mild chest infection and decides to fight it themselves but ends up hospitalised 2/3 weeks later with bacterial pneumonia.

irishgeo

Surely the WHO should be working on new antibiotics if the other companies aren't. Pretty sure the WHO is government funded.

dudara

pilly wrote: »

Well that's a fair enough point but it wasn't the one made in the opening article.

You have a point there. The article leads with the death of a 70 year old woman which, while sad, is hardly unexpected. People reading quickly are probably likely to dismiss the story, and therefore not get the real messages contained within.

ScumLord

PucaMama wrote: »

what do you mean by who? Do you need a list of names? It's well known people believe that crap.

It's not well known. We've had plenty of threads on AH about medical cannabis and I don't think anyone claimed it can cure everything. I don't think anyone even claimed it will fully cure anything, just help with things like chronic pain and appetite. The jury is out on claims its effective at reducing cancer.

I think what's going on here is your attributing an extreme claim to the pro cannabis lobby that they never made. Outside of crackpots.

dudara wrote: »

I'm not old, but I have potential susceptibility to infections due the fact that I was born with a heart defect. I'm a pretty robust person with good natural defences (I grew up on a farm), and I've only ever needed antibiotics a handful of times in my life. But still... it will only take one infection of the wrong kind.

Growing up on a farm isn't going to give your immune system anything to worry about. City folk would have a much more robust immune system because they live in human filth and are exposed to way more bacteria on a daily basis than anyone living on a farm would see, probably in their lifetime. There's also all the foreign bacterias brought in by tourists and immigrants.

When they did a study of bacteria on the new york subway they found loads of new species and things that shouldn't be.

Bottom line is cities are cesspits of bacteria. The country while on the face of it may seem dirtier at a bacterial level it's a hospital compared to any large city.

steddyeddy

VinLieger wrote: »

Ohh I know so lets get onto whatever the next antibiotics type cure is, we should still be allocating government funding to antibiotics to tide us over but we need medical advancements in a new direction too as antibiotics is ultimately a dead end no matter how much money you throw at it

Your best bet is animals. There's some groups looking at certain creatures that seem to be extremely resilient to bacteria.

PucaMama

ScumLord wrote: »

It's not well known. We've had plenty of threads on AH about medical cannabis and I don't think anyone claimed it can cure everything. I don't think anyone even claimed it will fully cure anything, just help with things like chronic pain and appetite. The jury is out on claims its effective at reducing cancer.

I think what's going on here is your attributing an extreme claim to the pro cannabis lobby that they never made. Outside of crackpots.

Growing up on a farm isn't going to give your immune system anything to worry about. City folk would have a much more robust immune system because they live in human filth and are exposed to way more bacteria on a daily basis than anyone living on a farm would see, probably in their lifetime. There's also all the foreign bacterias brought in by tourists and immigrants.

When they did a study of bacteria on the new york subway they found loads of new species and things that shouldn't be.

Bottom line is cities are cesspits of bacteria. The country while on the face of it may seem dirtier at a bacterial level it's a hospital compared to any large city.

Well those are some very loud and clear crackpots on Facebook. It's not hard to find someone claiming it "cures" cancer.

ScumLord

PucaMama wrote: »

Well those are some very loud and clear crackpots on Facebook. It's not hard to find someone claiming it "cures" cancer.

Everyone on facebook is a crackpot. If that's where you're getting your information from it's no wonder you're making claims like that. The amount of misinformation I see on facebook is shocking. Much of it is quite clearly nonsense but for some reason people just accept everything they read there. It's bizarre.

jimgoose

ScumLord wrote: »

Everyone on facebook is a crackpot. If that's where you're getting your information from it's no wonder you're making claims like that. The amount of misinformation I see on facebook is shocking. Much of it is quite clearly nonsense but for some reason people just accept everything they read there. It's bizarre.

Post-Truth, dude. It's the new Flower-Power. :cool:

ScumLord

My own mother shared a post about how mars was going to be as large as the moon because of planets aligning. How can anyone in their right mind think that was true. She's not that stupid, far from it but for some reason it pops up on facebook and she buys into hook line and sinker and then presses share. What happened?

Wibbs

PucaMama wrote: »

We aren't immune the bacteria are. So no we are all dead should a deadly enough bacteria evolve

Yes and no. For example I've never taken an antibiotic, however I have had bacterial infections and I got over them. On that basis people similar to myself who have survived multiple bacterial infections without antibiotics would be more likely to have a naturally stronger immune system compared to someone who has been regularly been treating bacterial infections with antibiotics. Such immune systems would also have been more "exercised". Even an extremely deadly pathogen like Bubonic plague had survivors whose bodies fought the bacteria. If they didn't we wouldn't be here, because at more than one point in all Eurasian readers of this thread there would have been a plague survivor.

PopePalpatine

ScumLord wrote: »

My own mother shared a post about how mars was going to be as large as the moon because of planets aligning. How can anyone in their right mind think that was true. She's not that stupid, far from it but for some reason it pops up on facebook and she buys into hook line and sinker and then presses share. What happened?

It's basically the Gen X/Boomer equivalent of when you were in school and one of your classmates claimed you could capture Mew in Pokemon if you went to one specific tile in the game and pressed "A" a certain amount of times...except with way more serious consequences.

ScumLord

Wibbs wrote: »

Yes and no. For example I've never taken an antibiotic, however I have had bacterial infections and I got over them.

Our bodies can fight off a lot of bacteria up to a point. I get recurring skin infections, for the most part I put up with them, they run their course my immune system eventually wins out. But twice now they've manage to just run riot and I had to go to hospital to get the infection treated. I'm guessing it's the same bacteria doing the infected (although maybe it's not), so even though my body has plenty of experience fighting these bacteria under certain circumstances the bacteria get the better of my immune system. Without modern medicine I'd be dead, and it would have been a pretty horrible death without that medical intervention.