Drug-resistant "Superbug" Found in Illinois
By ALLY CLARK and NESITA KWAN
Updated 3:30 PM CDT, Tue, Sep 14, 2010
NBC Chicago
An Illinois resident is one of three people in the United States infected with a drug resistant "superbug," but an infectious disease specialist said there's no reason for the public to be unnecessarily alarmed. LMAO
NDM-1, the technical name for the superbug, refers to bacteria that have been made resistant to nearly all antibiotics by a new gene. All three U.S. cases -- in Illinois, California, and Massachusetts -- involve patients who were traveling in India, where the problem is widespread.
In recent years, more and more Americans have traveled to that region of the world for hospital procedures, finding them more affordable than if they were done in the U.S.
The gene has mostly been found in bacteria that cause gut or urinary infections. It is unknown how many deaths have been cause by the gene as there are no centralized methods for tracking it.
Source: nbcchicago.com |
