New Intestinal Superbug On The Rise
Study Shows Cases Of Antibiotic-Resistant Infection Increasing By 10,000 Every Year
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Superbug Alert And Advice
Clostridium Difficile, or "C-diff," is known as a "superbug" because it is resistant to some antibiotics. Almost 300,000 people have been hospitalized for it since 2005. Dr. Jon LaPook reports.
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CDC Warns Of Superbug Surge
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control is warning of an intestinal superbug surge. The number of C. diff infections has increased dramatically in recent years. Dr. Emily Senay reports.
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The germ, resistant to some antibiotics, has become a regular menace in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found it played a role in nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005, more than double the number in 2000.
The infection, Clostridium difficile, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. But the spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or antibacterial soap.
C-diff, as it's known, has grown resistant to certain antibiotics that work against other colon bacteria. The result: When patients take those antibiotics, competing bacteria die off and C-diff explodes.
"It's getting more frequent and harder to treat, but I should say, still treatable," said CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook. "What happens is your colon is filled with trillions of bacteria but they're in balance. If you take antibiotics, sometimes it throws the bacteria out of whack.
"This is spread in hospitals from room to room by doctors and nurses who can spread it from patient to patient," LaPook added.
This virulent strain of C-diff was rarely seen before 2000.
"The nature of this infection is changing. It's more severe," said Dr. L. Clifford McDonald, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert who was not part of the study.
There are other factors that play into the rise of C-diff cases as well, including a larger number of patients who are older and sicker. "And there may be some overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics," said Dr. Marya Zilberberg, a University of Massachusetts researcher and lead author of the study.
This is not a time for alarm, but more a time for educating health professionals to understand this particular pathogen.
Kathy Warye, Assoc. for Professionals in Infection Control and EpidemiologyThe research is being published in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a CDC publication.
Using other scientists' estimates, the study concluded that 2.3 percent of the cases in 2004 were fatal - about 5,500 deaths. That was nearly double the percentage of C-diff-related cases that ended in death in 2000.
Many of the people who died had other health problems. The study did not try to determine if Clostridium difficile was the main cause of death in each case, Zilberberg said.
But earlier research concluded the infection is the underlying cause of thousands of deaths annually, and the problem is getting worse.
C-diff has become an acute health concern in Canada, where it was blamed for 260 deaths at seven Ontario hospitals recently, and 2,000 deaths in Quebec since 2002.
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology is currently working with U.S. hospitals to study prevalence of the infection and what infection control measures seem to work best.
"This is not a time for alarm, but more a time for educating health professionals to understand this particular pathogen," said Kathy Warye, chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based association.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Of course, it doesn''t surprise me that CBS will not disclose that genetically altered food is believed to be the cause of this, since Monsanto is a major advertiser on CBS.
If you''ve gotten rid of 99% of the bacteria on the first use, you''re making the remaining 1% stronger... And so it will go!
If you''''ve gotten rid of 99% of the bacteria on the first use, you''''re making the remaining 1% stronger... And so it will go!
Posted by boffo1962
And that is called ......... EVOLUTION!!!!
to load people up with yogurt and ask floor nurses
to get probiotic orders when residents were put on
antibiotics. That idea was "too far out".
Note I saw my wife daily and did not get sick.
Also, too much of that hand sanitizer stuff isn''t good either. Nothing is as good as warm water and soap handwashing! That is the biggest defense any of us have over these "Superbugs" such as C-diff and MRSA.
Handwashing, Handwashing, Handwashing.....It''s really simple....
If we can kill them they will come....
Posted by connietoscan at 07:13 PM : May 28, 2008--------The first thing I''d do if it were my son in that condition is get him out of there and have him start taking 100% wild Mediterranean "Oregano Oil" orally. Google it for yourself. Those doctors will kill your child just to milk your wallet dry.
I recommend giving him bovine colostrum. it is available in tablets. if he takes 2 of these a day it will soon strengthen his immune system enough to fight it on its own. Thats the theory, but I have great confidence that it could work. I was prone to stomach viruses and ear infections, nearly on cue. Since I started taking the colostrum, I haven''t been sick since...about 2 years now. It is very safe and is classified as a food.
-My goodness, how did he fall off a 3 story balcony? Sounds like he''s lucky to be alive in the first place. I wish you all the best and hope everything works out.
My kid got MRSA from daycare. Again, very scary.
I told doctors at my college nearly 20 years ago that antibiotics were''nt working anymore. They didn''t believe me. Now, guess what??
Wide spectrum antibiotics kill everything in your intestins and then spores from external c. diff can make it through your digestive system and multiply at a fast rate due to the lack of competition. At this point the usually benign toxins they secrete build up and can penetrate your intestinal linings, if these bacteria make it into your bloodstream their s-layer proteins can give you sepsis (i.e coagulation of all your blood and massive organ failure).
The only people who need to be worried about this are those who have taken wide spectrum or anaerobic specific antibiotics and the elderly like the article says and who have been or currently are in the hospital. It has created epidemics that have closed entire hospitals due to improper cleaning and quarantine by hospitals. However for the average person this is nothing to worry about.
DO NOT TAKE WIDE SPECTRUM ANTIBIOTICS unless you have an MRSA infection and use for that use teicoplanin not vancomycin as c. diff is partially resistant. Ask for limited spectrum antibiotics if available
DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH TRICLOSAN!!!! THIS SELECTS FOR ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT STRAINS OF BACTERIA (it is in toothpaste, antibacterial handsoap, all over, it should be illegal but the pharmaceutical lobbyists have to much influence in washington and in the court system at the moment although we are currently working on a lawsuit)
DO NOT STAY IN THE HOSPITAL UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECCESSARY- this is only a nosocomial (hospital) infection
If your are prescribed wide spectrum antibiotics eat live culture yogurt or look into various pro-biotic foods/supplements as these will fill your intestines with other bacteria that will out comptete the c. difficile
A year from now we will be asking who is going to pick up the bill for the damage caused by MMR and Gardasil. Had "They" have had their way, we would have vaccinated millions with the Bird Flu vaccine which has turned out to be a Dead Duck ! What Next !
The list is endless, their greed knows no end.
Their research is conducted on the sick and needy, when enough folks suffer death or serious side effects, they reluctantly pull their junk, leaving those effected to fight for years through the courts to obtain redress.
As an Industry they are Scum, life to them is Cheap !
Posted by samrensho
It''s not the antibiotics in the meat and milk that''s creating resistant strains; it''s the antibiotics that were shoved down kids'' throats during the last few decades. Blame lies with moms who pressured doctors into prescribing antibiotics for viral colds/flues. The docs knew it had no effect on the kids; it just placated the parents who didn''t know any better. Instead of educating the parents, the medical practice happily took the extra money from the prescription antibiotics and sent the parents home thinking they had done something to cure their child of an incurable virus. There%u2019s a reason antibiotics are prescription-only drugs. Anyway, then mom promptly hosed down the house with gallon after gallon of "anti-bacterial" this and "sanitizing" that, exacerbating the problem. Disinfect the kitchen after slicing up chicken and leave the rest of the house alone. Not only are you selecting the resistant bacteria, your disabling your immune system so when a bug does get in, there is nothing in place to fight it.
Put down the Purell and step back!
Which is why it isn''t used in American medicine. If it doesn''t cost a fortune, nobody is interested.
My ex-husband had major surgery (which was considered a total success) involving circulation in the lower legs, he developed MRSA in the hospital and C diff in the convalescent facility. Back to hospital because of dehydration. Every time he improved slightly, he was sent back to the convalescent facility. Surgery was done in March 2005, he died in June 2005 from the institution-borne infections. Neither the hospital or nursing home seemed to have heard of probiotics.
Unfortunately, both of the infections are moving away from the institutions and into the general population.
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by h5mind
June 1, 2008 7:42 AM PDT
- The human immune system is offered refered to as a "black box" since so little is known about it. Medical professionals can certainly list a plethora of factors relating to poor immune system function, but rarely if ever know how to cure any of the resulting diseases. This, I suspect, is why they prefer to focus on expensive (and lucrative) long term treatment instead of cure. If ''modern'' medicine has failed you, try the following: 1)Eat organic, unprocessed foods, epecially fruits, vegetables, meats and milk, 2)Avoid using flouridated toothpaste, water and beverages containing it, 3)Avoid high fructose corn syrup, 4)Eat raw honey each day, especially if you suffer from allergies (which are themselves evidence of auto-immune disorder),5) and finally, do not take vaccinations if they contain mercury, aluminum or formaldehyde. Better yet, refuse all of them. Groups such as the Amish follow these rules and do not suffer from the many mystery illnesses so rampant today. Their population is almost entirely devoid of cancer as well. As Aristole said, "food is the first medicine".
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