superbug

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superbug

(so͞o′pər-bŭg′)

n. Informal

A strain of bacteria that has become resistant to most antibiotics.

superbug

An informal term for an infective micro-organism that has become resistant to antibiotics and is capable of causing serious infection. Rapid evolutionary natural selection forces have ensured that some organisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus and various Enterobacteriaceae , are now resistant to virtually all the earlier antibiotics; and resistance to a range of antibiotics has arisen in numerous other organisms including those causing bacillary dysentery, food poisoning, gonorrhoea and tuberculosis.

superbug

a colloquial referrence to a bacterium that carries resistance genes to many antibiotics or to a bacterium or virus of greatly enhanced virulence.

Patient discussion about superbug

Q. Are superbugs contagious through the air? Last week we visited my dad in the hospital, and we noticed that on the next room’s door there was a warning sign. After asking, we were told it was a denoting that the patient inside had a superbug (called klebsiella). On our way out we passed against this patient in the hallway – is it possible that I also carry this superbag? Is it dangerous?

A. Usually these bacteria are transmitted from person to person through direct contact, and less through the air. Moreover, these germs are dangerous in ill and debilitated patients, and not in normal healthy individuals.

More discussions about superbug

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References in periodicals archive ?

Once they do, these superbug infections can easily spread like wildfire.

Notorious Nano-villains: The rise of the superbug

There are six superbugs that are cause for concern: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter.

CDC: Health care workers can do more to prevent superbugs

In the last 18 months alone, two new strains of MRSA-resistant superbugs have evolved in farmed animals - pigs and dairy cows - but life has gone on as normal.

Veganism can avert disaster; Letters

One of the reasons the superbug problem has worsened is that no new class of antibiotics has been discovered since 1987, so bacteria have had time to grow resistant to currently available drugs.

Invasion of the Superbugs

Kalorama said the concerns over the superbug are expected to drive growth in the USD3.

Kalorama reports superbug outbreak impacts sterilization services at healthcare facilities

The problem is that open-air defecation and poor public hygiene have allowed the superbug to contaminate the river, waterways and even drinking water.

Incredibly Unwell India

The superbug has also acquired high levels of resistance to vancomycin, the most common and least expensive antibiotic used to treat severe MRSA infections worldwide.

New MRSA superbug found in Brazilian patient

MORE NHS trusts than ever have failed to hit targets to banish deadly superbugs from their hospital wards.

Hospitals 'failing to tackle MRSA'

Superbugs, which are resistant to standard antibiotics, have led to outbreaks and deaths in Ontario hospitals.

BGH tech makes discovery

Last week the Sunday Mercury revealed that C Diff, a superbug which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, still caused more than 2,200 infections in Midland hospitals in the past year.

SUPERBUG SQUASHED! Midland hospitals beat MRSA after hygiene drive

The so-called new superbug dubbed NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1) poses a global threat, warned scientists on Monday, urging health authorities to track the bacteria.

Superbug fears in UAE shooed off

A researcher at Nottingham University said in a press release on Monday that he has found molecules in the brain and nervous system of cockroaches that kill superbugs.