The CDC Has Been Able To Stop A Superbug From Spreading

We might be winning the battle against the superbug.

Strains of the deadly “nightmare” bacteria that have developed a resistance against antibiotics were found in 221 people in 2017. But according to the CDC, efforts to stop the spread and control the germs are successful.

The bacteria family known as “enterobacteriaceae” can develop antibiotic resistance, in which case it’s considered untreatable and is fatal in 50% of cases. The CDC announced the successes of its containment strategy in April 3, 2018 report.

“With an aggressive response, we have been able to stomp [the bacteria] out promptly and stop their spread between people, between facilities and between other germs.” Dr. Anne Schuchat stated. “CDC’s containment strategy calls for quickly identifying unusual resistance in patients, assessing infection control and the facility if unusual resistance is found.”

In January 2017, the CDC created a network of labs that could quickly identify the bacteria. They said it was surprised at how many deadly bacteria it found, but believes there’s a chance to keep them from becoming widespread. The concept of mutating unstoppable superbugs is definitely terrifying. But it’s nice to see a situation where we are able to get ahead of the problem and hopefully prevent it.