Almost lost in the deluge of news of advancements in the medical world is the revelation of new strains of bacteria that challenge all we have learned over the past century about fighting disease organisms.
A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria known medically as carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, has jumped to the forefront of the medical world's attention due to one very disturbing fact—their near-total resistance to an entire family of drugs known as carbapenum antibiotics makes them nearly impossible to treat once they infect a patient.
Emerging recently in hospitals and nursing homes, they attack the most vulnerable—weaker and elderly patients. And once they get a foothold in a hospital or nursing home, they are virtually unstoppable.
In the face of these and other rising health threats on a national and global scale, we need to consider what's happening and where our primary focus should be.