Antibiotic Resistant Germs

Germs displaying unusual resistance include those which can’t be killed by most or all antibiotics, or have genes which allow spreading of resistance to other germs. Rapid identification of the new threats are most critical as first steps to containment strategies, facilities will quickly isolate patients to begin aggressive infection control, with screenings to discover, reduce, and stop transmission. This study has found several dangerous pathogens which have been hiding in plain site which cause infections that are either difficult or impossible to treat.

Rapid identification of resistance, assessing infection control, testing patients who may have come in contact and spread infection, and continued infection control assessments until spread is stopped is called for by CDC containment strategies, which requires coordinated response among health care facilities, health departments, labs, and CDC using AR Lab Network. Using this approach facilities have conducted infection control and colonization screenings within 48 hours of reported unusual resistance and reported no further transmission during several weeks of follow up.

Strategy complements CDC foundational efforts which include improving antibiotic use and preventing new infections building on existing methods and infrastructure. Data suggests containment strategy can prevent thousands of difficult and potentially untreatable infections including high priority threats such as carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae and Candida auris.

Germs continually develop ways to resist existing antibiotics; it is currently not possible to stop new resistance from developing. Infrastructure investments in infection control, laboratories, and response enable tailored, aggressive, and rapid investigations to keep resistance from spreading in health care settings nationwide.

Study findings have shown one in four germ samples for testing had special genes which allow them to spread their resistance to other germs; one in ten screening tests in facilities being investigated from symptom free patients identified hard to treat germs that spread with ease, meaning germs could have spread undetected in that facility; CRE estimates show containment strategy would prevent up to 1,600 new infections in a single state over 3 years which is a 76% reduction.

More on the containment strategy and Vital Signs report can be found: www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/containing-unusual-resistance