New hospital superbug alarms healthcare professionals
Superbugs cost the NHS at least £1 billion a year
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Tuesday, 18, Nov 2008 10:13
The emergence of a new superbug threatening the health of those in hospital is proving increasingly worrying to healthcare experts.
A baumannii is a type of bacteria which causes infections in hospitalised patients and over the past three decades infection rates have increased substantially.
In the UK, one of the worst-affected countries in Europe, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are estimated to cost the National Health Service at least £1 billion per year, John McConnell, editor of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, said.
"Modern medicine faces few greater challenges than that of HAIs," he said.
Though more research has to be done to process infections, the most recent examination on A baumannii has shown it has a multidrug resistance of about 30 per cent.
According to researchers stringent hygiene observance and drug option research to combat multidrug resistant strains of A baumannii are critical to stop major outbreaks.
"Media attention has increased public pressure to tackle HAIs - a pressure that clinicians, researchers, and policy makers must deal with," Mr McConnell added.
People normally affected with A baumannii infections are generally of advanced age, have a serious underlying disease or a suppressed immune system.
Other factors increasing the likelihood of susceptibility are those who have had an invasive procedure, are on mechanical ventilation support or have an extended hospital stay.
Typically, A baumannii is a bacteria found in environmental sources like soil, foods, and can even be found settled in the skin of healthy people.