The Rise of Superbugs Called 'Apocalyptic Scenario'

Staphylococcus aureus is …

A prominent British health official has declared the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs so grave a threat that the world is now facing an "apocalyptic scenario" in which people die of routine infections.

Dame Sally Davies, the U.K.'s chief medical officer (a role equivalent to the U.S. surgeon general), warned Parliament that contagious antibiotic-resistant disease is an imminent crisis and should be included on the government's official register of possible national emergencies, right next to terrorist attacks and natural disasters, according to the Guardian.

Superbugs are disease-causing bacteria that have evolved to have defenses against antibiotic drugs. Over the years, some strains of bacteria have become so robust they resist almost every weapon in our drug armamentarium.

"There are few public health issues of potentially greater importance for society than antibiotic resistance," Davies told the Guardian. And she pulled no punches when speaking to Parliament: "We need to get our act together in this country," the Guardian quoted her as saying.

Davies is hardly the first to sound the alarm on the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections. "It certainly would — and has — resulted in a much greater risk of dying of infection," Dr. Brad Spellberg, assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told LiveScience.

"We already are seeing infections that are untreatable," Spellberg said. Besides the rising threats of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis and gonorrhea, he cited three bacterial infections of particular concern: Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia.

Each of these bacteria can cause a number of infectious diseases, including pneumonia, septicemia and urinary tract infections. In the case of Klebsiella, Spellberg noted, there's just one highly toxic drug left, and it's effective only about half the time it's used.

It's equally alarming that antibiotic drug development is at a virtual standstill, he said. "The pipeline is barren," partly because pharmaceutical companies have few incentives for developing antibiotics that people take for just a few days or weeks, Spellberg said.

Instead, drugmakers focus on research into drugs that are taken for years to treat chronic conditions like arthritis or heart disease. Davies told Parliament, "There is a broken market model for making new antibiotics."

While Spellberg is careful to add some perspective to the issue – "I don't think we should be alarmist" – he emphasizes that a "massive crisis" is looming if we leave unaddressed the continued rise in antibiotic-resistant superbugs, since it could result in a "catastrophic drop in quality of life."

Here are superbugs that can be challenging to treat.

Klebsiella pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniaebacteria can infect the lungs and lead to pneumonia. The bacteria can also infect wounds or surgical sites, or spread through the body via blood infections.


Normally, Klebsiella bacteria can be found in humans' mouths, intestines and skin, and they cause no harm to people with healthy immune systems. But certain strains, like Klebsiella pneumoniae, can be dangerous for some people with weakened immune systems, particularly those in hospitals.


One strain of the bacteria is also resistant to a number of antibiotics, making the infection hard to treat. This type of Klebsiella pneumoniae produces an enzyme known as carbapenemase, which prevents antibiotics called carbapenems from killing the bacteria and treating the infection.


To prevent spread of infection, the CDC recommends patients and hospital personnel follow strict hygiene procedures, such as hand-washing and wearing hospital gowns and gloves.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a strain of bacteria that's resistant to the antibiotics used to treat typical staph infections. The bacteria can spread by touching, as often occurs in hospitals.


Once the bacteria enters the body, they can spread to bones, joints or major organs such as the lungs, heart or brain.


The rate of MRSA infections in hospital patients has increased in recent years, according to a recent study published in the August issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 1,000 hospital patients developed an infection. The number jumped up to 42 out of 1,000 patients


The best way to prevent the spread of MRSA is for health care workers and hospital visitors to keep their hands clean, according to the CDC.

Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficilebacteriaare found in the intestines. Healthy people who have enough "good" bacteria in their intestines may not get sick from a C. diff infection. But for people with weak immune systems, the germ can cause a number of symptoms, such as diarrhea or life-threatening inflammation of the colon.


People who take antibiotics are at greater risk of C. diff infection, because antibiotics can kill the good germs in the intestines, leaving an imbalance.


C. difficilecan cause severe diarrhea, and the germ is linked to 14,000 American deaths each year, according to the CDC.


Those most at risk are the elderly who take antibiotics, and also those who get regular hospital care.


In about one in four patients, the infection may go away within two to three days after stopping antibiotic use, according to the CDC. Once the infection is gone, doctors generally prescribe another antibiotic for 10 days to make sure the infection doesn't return.