bigsale
November 9th, 2007, 07:42 AM
It's an alarming discovery.
A study by the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) suggests that drug-resistant bacteria may already be prevalent in the community at large. Based on skin swabs of 1,000 patients at the Accident and Emergency Department in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, more than 1 in 4 were found to carry the "ESBL and MRSA super-bugs" even before they were hospitalised. Some 25 per cent of the patients were found with ESBL, while 1.8 per cent were found with MRSA.
Experts had thought that these super-bugs were confined only to hospitals. Doctors say one reason for the presence of these super-bugs outside a hospital setting could be the misuse of antibiotics.
Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, clinical director at the CDC, said: "In situations where we need to use antibiotics, we use them. But in situations like common cough and cold, where we know that it's likely caused by virus, the antibiotics are not going to be useful."
From next year, the CDC will work with grassroots organisations to collect more samples to determine the prevalence of these super-bugs in the population. — Channel NewsAsia
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/221269.asp
A study by the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) suggests that drug-resistant bacteria may already be prevalent in the community at large. Based on skin swabs of 1,000 patients at the Accident and Emergency Department in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, more than 1 in 4 were found to carry the "ESBL and MRSA super-bugs" even before they were hospitalised. Some 25 per cent of the patients were found with ESBL, while 1.8 per cent were found with MRSA.
Experts had thought that these super-bugs were confined only to hospitals. Doctors say one reason for the presence of these super-bugs outside a hospital setting could be the misuse of antibiotics.
Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, clinical director at the CDC, said: "In situations where we need to use antibiotics, we use them. But in situations like common cough and cold, where we know that it's likely caused by virus, the antibiotics are not going to be useful."
From next year, the CDC will work with grassroots organisations to collect more samples to determine the prevalence of these super-bugs in the population. — Channel NewsAsia
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/221269.asp