A bacteria resistant to an antibiotic has infected the first U.S. patient. Researchers have thought of the antibiotic as a last option against drug-resistant germs, making this case particularly alarming for the medical community, according to The New York Times.
Here are five key notes:
1. Researchers found the bacteria can readily transmit their resistance to other germs that are also resistant to other antibiotics.
2. The bacteria is resistant to colistin, an antibiotic providers use to treat particularly dangerous infections that are resistant to carbapenems.
3. Researchers found if carbapenem-resistant bacteria become resistant to colistin, the infections may be untreatable. As one researcher said, "This is huge. We are one step away from CRE strains that cannot be treated with antibiotics. We now have all the pieces in place for it to be untreatable."
4. By 2013, researcher identified CRE in healthcare facilities in 44 states.
5. Each year, nearly 2 million Americans fall prey to antibiotic-resistant bacteria and nearly 23,000 Americans die.
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