Superbug CRE Spreading Stealthily, Diversifying, Resisting Antibiotics While Killing Hundreds of People

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Superbug with strong resistance against multiple antibiotics spreads silently. The bug is called "nightmare" bacteria by Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for having the ability to resist carbapenem- the last-resort antibiotic.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE is a bacteria that is not fully known to the scientists.  Researchers analyzed 250 CRE samples and discovered that the bacteria have remarkable diverse genes, and they are able to transfer resistance genes between their own species, reports Tech Times.

The most dangerous fact about these bacteria is that it spreads silently without creating any symptoms in a patient.  There is no evidence on how it spreads from person to person. "The most common source of transmission with CRE is asymptomatic," said Alex Kallen, a medical officer in the CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, who was not involved in the study.

The mighty bacteria infect almost 9,300 people every year in the U.S. out of which 600 die. The bacteria may already be developing silently in many other people without they notice it.

The research results show that CRE adapt fast and maintain their existence by diversifying in in the sick person which is a clear explanation of their silent transmission to the healthy. More surveillance is needed that would involve both the sick and healthy people, according to The Scientist.

 The researches reveal that CREs adapt fast and diversify in the sick which hints to its silent and unnoticeable transmission among the healthy. The unrecognizable mechanism of the bug to carbapenem resistance requires more focused surveillance of CRE.

The researchers said that up till now the focus of health experts has been on treating patients suffering from CRE but the new findings suggest that CRE spreads beyond the obvious known causes.  This requires that health experts look harder and find those causes of transmission within healthcare facilities and human communities.