An antibiotic-resistant type of Gram-negative bacteria is infecting an increasing number of children in the US, researchers report in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
These findings come at a time when the issue of drug-resistant bacteria is at the forefront of public health concerns. In late 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report that provided the first snapshot of the toll and threat such "superbugs" pose to US health.
In that report, the CDC cited use of antibiotics as the single biggest cause of drug-resistant bacteria, suggesting that up to half of all antibiotics prescribed are unnecessary.
With this latest study, researchers from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, looked at resistance patterns in around 370,000 clinical isolates from child patients, which were collected around the US between 1999 and 2011.
They focused on prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae, drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria that produce an enzyme - called extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) - which hinders many strong antibiotics.
Though this type of bacterium is still uncommon, the team says it is increasingly found in children, particularly those between the ages of 1 and 5 years old. As such, concerns have been raised about a lack of treatment options in the wake of this increasing prevalence.
No comments:
Post a Comment