Drug-resistant strains of the bacteria cause more than 30,000 infections annually among hospitalized patients in the U.S. OYong and her colleagues knew they were dealing with a scary germ, and they notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was an early break for investigators, said Kelsey OYong, of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The institution, which was equipped to do advanced genetic testing, quickly realized the bacteria had a rare gene that protected it from the effects of commonly used antibiotics. The hospital that reported the first infection determined it was caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among the four, two had complete vision loss in the affected eye. The patients’ eyes were inflamed with heavy yellow pus that obscured most of the pupil. Two more cases were reported in the county before the summer was over. Another bad eye infection, same eye doctor. A month later, local health officials got a second report. A patient who’d recently been to an ophthalmologist came in with a bad eye infection. The investigation started in May in Los Angeles County, California. disease investigators, health officials in three states and regulators in the U.S. This account is drawn from phone and email interviews with U.S. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “This really shows us that it’s not something theoretical and in the future. The infections were found in different parts of the body - in the blood of some patients, in the lungs of others.īut scientists also shudder, because they have long worried common bacteria will evolve so that antibiotics no longer work against them. The illnesses occurred over the span of months. READ MORE: This researcher builds ‘cool stuff for blind people.’ He’s also trying to help transform societyĮxperts marvel at how disease detectives pieced together the case: Patients were scattered across the country. All have been linked to tainted eyedrops, leading to a recall. It was the beginning of a national outbreak caused by an extremely worrisome bacteria - one that some say heralds an era in which antibiotics no longer work and seemingly routine infections get horribly out of hand.Īt last count, 58 Americans in 13 states have been infected, including at least one who died and at least five who suffered permanent vision loss. A doctor called one case the worst eye infection he’d ever seen. They could sense light but could see almost nothing else. NEW YORK (AP) - The patients’ eyes were painfully inflamed.
0 kommentar(er)
