OXA-48 is another dangerous superbug that is not affected by all antibiotics, even the so-called last chance. In such a situation, even a minor disease is deadly. Why is Klebsiella pneumoniae type OXA-48 resistant to antibiotics? How can you catch it? Are we in danger of an epidemic?

Another dangeroussuperbacteria- Klebsiella pneumoniaeof the OXA-48 typehas appeared in Poland. It is a stick of pneumonia that belongs to the group of intestinal bacteria. It is responsible for life-threatening pneumonia, inflammation of the urinary and digestive systems, meningitis and many other diseases. It can also cause sepsis.

In January 2022, Klebsiella pneumoniae type OXA-48 was detected in 8 people in several hospitals and a hospice in Pomerania. OXA-48 strains probably came to Europe from Arab countries. They spread especially in France, the Netherlands and Germany. The cause of the superbacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae type OXA-48 is the overuse of antibiotics.

OXA-48 is another dangerous superbug - how can you get infected?

The bacterium klebsiella pneumoniae type OXA-48 lives on the skin and in the gastrointestinal tract - it is excreted with the faeces of both the sick person and the he althy host (a person who has not yet manifested any disease symptoms). Therefore, it can spread through a non-disinfected toilet used by the person carrying the bacteria. As a result, the bacteria can spread easily from one person to another.

The infection most often occurs in hospital departments of anaesthesiology and intensive care. The source of infection can be people, but also medical equipment. In the hospital environment, these bacteria not only have a chance to spread freely and infect immunocompromised patients. According to the Epidemiological Reports of the European Union, pneumonia caused in hospitals by K. pneumoniae constitutes an average of about 10% of all nosocomial infections in EU countries, nosocomial infections of the urinary tract with this microorganism - on average 8.8%, and blood infections caused by K. pneumoniae are 8.7% of all nosocomial infections in the European Union on average.1 According to the same report, in Poland the percentage of multi-resistant infectionsof Klebsiella pneumoniae strains is between 25 and 50%, which is one of the highest results in Europe - for comparison, this percentage in Sweden is around 2%.1

Important

If it becomes infected, the body can fight the pathogen by itself. If this is not successful, the infection may become chronic (then ordinary pneumonia or cystitis cannot be cured) or the patient will die - most often as a result of sepsis (sepsis), as a result of which 50% of them die. sick.

OXA-48 is another dangerous superbug - why is it resistant to antibiotics?

A mechanism of resistance that is becoming more common among K. pneumoniae strains is the production of carbapenemases. These enzymes have the ability to deactivate antibiotics - penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems.1The most dangerous from the point of view of the therapy of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections is the resistance mechanism called NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta- lactamase-1).1Currently, strains of K. pneumoniae producing carbapenemases of the OXA-48 type, which inactivate practically all antibiotics, even those "last resort" that are used in the treatment of seriously ill.

OXA-48 is another dangerous superbug - are we in danger of an epidemic?

As the Sanepid argues, the current cases of OXA-48 type "superbugs" are completely under control, because hospitals reacted very quickly. The Pomeranian Voivode will appoint a special team to monitor the situation. "It is to prevent the spread of bacterial outbreaks.

Bibliography:

1. Czekaj T., Ciszewski M., Klebsiella pneumoniae NDM - a new superbug, "Medycyna Rodzinna" 2015, no. 1

Category:

Infectious diseases