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07/05/2008
Warning To Hospitals Over 'New' Superbug
Hospitals across the UK could be facing another so-called 'superbug', scientists have warned.
The study by the Wellcome Trust Sanger and the University of Bristol said Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has a "remarkable capacity" for drug resistance.
Worryingly, the bug infects up to 1,000 patients in Britain every year with septicaemia, a third of which are fatal.
Experts say that 'Steno' is common in the environment and breeds in moist environments.
Dr Matthew Avison from the University of Bristol and senior author on the study, said Steno is the latest in an "ever increasing" list of antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs.
"The degree of resistance it shows is very worrying. Strains are now emerging that are resistant to all available antibiotics, and no new drugs capable of combating these 'pan-resistant' strains are currently in development," he said.
The Health Insurance and Protection Magazine says that there are 1,000 reports of Steno being responsible for blood poisoning in the UK each year, with a mortality rate of about 30%.
The bug is also found in the lungs of adults with cystic fibrosis and the elderly intensive care patients.
A spokesperson from the Health Protection Agency says that people should not panic and that "the infection does not spread in the manner of MRSA or C. difficile" as there is little spread between patients.
A Department of Health spokesman said that "clean and safe treatment in the NHS is a top priority for the government" and that £270 million has been invested per year by 2010/11 to support infection prevention.
(DS)
The study by the Wellcome Trust Sanger and the University of Bristol said Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has a "remarkable capacity" for drug resistance.
Worryingly, the bug infects up to 1,000 patients in Britain every year with septicaemia, a third of which are fatal.
Experts say that 'Steno' is common in the environment and breeds in moist environments.
Dr Matthew Avison from the University of Bristol and senior author on the study, said Steno is the latest in an "ever increasing" list of antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs.
"The degree of resistance it shows is very worrying. Strains are now emerging that are resistant to all available antibiotics, and no new drugs capable of combating these 'pan-resistant' strains are currently in development," he said.
The Health Insurance and Protection Magazine says that there are 1,000 reports of Steno being responsible for blood poisoning in the UK each year, with a mortality rate of about 30%.
The bug is also found in the lungs of adults with cystic fibrosis and the elderly intensive care patients.
A spokesperson from the Health Protection Agency says that people should not panic and that "the infection does not spread in the manner of MRSA or C. difficile" as there is little spread between patients.
A Department of Health spokesman said that "clean and safe treatment in the NHS is a top priority for the government" and that £270 million has been invested per year by 2010/11 to support infection prevention.
(DS)
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