More and more resistant germs in clinics

Not only the US is affected by increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

09/19/2013

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are spreading more and more. Only a few days ago, the US Disease Control Agency had reported that 23,000 Americans die each year from infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But what is the situation in this country? What is the risk of getting infected in a hospital? Apparently not to be underestimated, because here too the number of resistant bacteria has increased significantly in recent years.

In the US, 23,000 deaths each year
An increasing number of dangerous bacteria that can hardly or no longer be combated with antibiotics are becoming an ever greater problem. In the US alone, according to the US disease control authority „Centers for Disease Control and Prevention“ (CDC) annually 23,000 Americans through infections with these, the number of infected is therefore now a total of over two million people.

Greens Bundestag faction makes inquiry to Federal Ministry of Health
However, the US is not alone with this problem, because even in local hospitals are spreading germs that only partially or not respond to antibiotics. This result emerges from a list of the Federal Ministry of Health, which comes from a response to a request from the Greens parliamentary group and loud „Mirror online“ the news agency „dpa“ is present. In this the deputy chairman of the parliamentary group of the Greens, Bärbel Höhn, had asked the question, „to the knowledge of the Federal Government, which finds of carbapenem resistances it has in each case in German hospitals and animal feed farms in the individual years 2008 to 2013“ were reported and where they had occurred.

Increase by 50 to 200 percent
Accordingly, the proportion of germs, which are partially or completely resistant to all broadband antibiotics, measured in all investigated germs „in the last five years by 50 to 200 percent“ depending on which type of bacteria it was. Depending on the species, the proportion of the low or insensitive germs was between 0.04 and 17.9 percent. For instance, in the case of the causative agent Escherichia coli (E. coli), the number of cases was 55 in 2012, compared with only 16 two years earlier. An equally significant increase was according to the documents of the Federal Ministry of Health „Acinetobacter baumannii“ (250 compared to 217 in 2010) and „Pseudomonas aeruginosa“ The number of cases was 3888 compared to 2722 two years earlier. In Hesse alone were the opinion of the Federal Ministry „in the period from 1.1.2012 to 30.9.2012 [...] 31 Acinetobacter baumannii and 32 Klebsiella spp. reported with carbapenem resistance“ been.

Numbers come from the „Antibiotic resists surveillance“
The corresponding data were available to the Federal Ministry of Health as part of a control project on antibiotic resistance („Antibiotic resists surveillance“) has been transmitted directly from clinics. According to state secretary Annette Widmann-Mauz (CDU), however, was due „the changing number of participants [.] a comparison of the absolute numbers between the years not allowed.“ For example, while in 2008 only 150 clinics had participated, in 2013 there were already 284.

Has the policy failed in the fight against antibiotic resistance?
In view of the rise of dangerous germs, there was clear criticism of the work of the Federal Minister Daniel Bahr (FDP) and Ilse Aigner (CSU) from the responsible Green MEP Friedrich Ostendorff. It had been denied in the fight against antibiotic resistance, „the rapid development of resistance is another warning shot, "said the politician to the dpa. The policy must bear the responsibility that before each hospital admission general investigations are carried out with regard to dangerous bacteria, so the demand Ostendorffs.

Research into new antibiotics needs to be improved
Other opinion is there the health spokesman for the CDU / CSU parliamentary group Jens Spahn. In his view, the government would have „[...] actively involved in the fight against hospital germs like never before in the last four years.“ For reporting obligations had been extended and rapid tests in many clinics have been standardized, also would be the first time the training and education of so-called „Hygiene experts“ financed and also the federal states had to tighten their hygiene regulations, so Spahn opposite the dpa. But according to the politician, that's not enough: „What we still need to improve is research into new antibiotics. We want to protect patients as much as possible from unnecessary infections.“ (No)

Image: Dieter Schütz