Bacterial Resistance I.pptVIP

Bacterial Resistance When Antibiotics Don’t Work Before Antibiotics A New Threat In recent years, the threat caused by the acquisition of antibiotic resistance by pathogenic bacteria has been growing. The number of deaths caused by nosocomial infections are increasing and strains of four potentially deadly pathogens (Enterococcus faecalis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus) have been found which are resistant to all previously known antibiotics. New Risks New infections caused by these microbes are responsible for urinary tract infections, bacteremia, endocarditis, diverticulitis, and meningitis. Sensitive strains can be treated by ampicillin or vancomycin. In the last two decades, particularly virulent strains of Enterococcus, Strep and Staph which are resistant to vancomycin have emerged in nosocomial infections of hospitalized patients especially in the US. Enteroccous (Strep) Staphylococcus Staph Resistance Each year approximately two million hospitalizations result in nosocomial infections. Illness attributable to nosocomial bacteremia increased intensive care unit stay by 8 days, hospital stay by 14 days, and the death rate by 35%. An earlier study found that postoperative wound infections increased hospital stay an average of 7.4 days. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common cause of nosocomial infections between 1990 to 1996 including pneumonia, surgical site infections and bloodstream infections, S. aureus also causes community-acquired infections (e.g., osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, skin infections, endocarditis, and meningitis). More than 95% of patients with S. aureus infections worldwide do not respond to first-line antibiotics such as penicillin or ampicillin. Additionally, methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus (MRSA) are common. First reported in the 1960s, MRSA has become increasingly prevalent since the 1980s with resistance in approximately 30% of all S. aureus infections. Sites of Staph