

CDC: 'Nightmare bacteria' spreading - arbuge
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/06/health/super-bug-bacteria-spreading/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

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DanBC
I dislike the sensationalism around NIGHTMARE SUERBUGS.

Here's a short segment from a recent BBC TV programme ('Defeating the
Superbugs') showing bacteria evolving antibiotic resistance.

[http://v6.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=24goih4&s=6](http://v6.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=24goih4&s=6)

(YouTube's ContentID system discovers and blocks this clip.

A tray is divided into 9 sections. the end 2 sections are normal nutrient
jelly. The next 2 inner sections are nutrient jelly with a normal dose of
antibiotic. The next two inner sections have ten times that amount. The next
two sections have 100 times the normal amount, and the final inner section has
1000 times the normal dose. (This final section has reached the solubility
level of the antibiotic - they cannot dissolve any more into the jelly).

Then a drop of E.Coli is added to the end sections.

A time lapse camera shows the bacteria growing, and stopping at the barriers,
and then overcoming the barriers.

After just two weeks bacteria is able to survive on the middle section; the
section with 1000x the normal dose of antibiotic.

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hmsimha
The first claim in the article about the mortality rate (<= 50%) is
sensationalist and deceptive. The mention towards the end, that the mortality
rate approaches half _in patients with CRE bloodstream infections_ is more in
line with the CDC press release the Wikipedia Article links to
[http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0305_deadly_bacteria...](http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0305_deadly_bacteria.html)
(I edited the Wikipedia page to reflect this same point.. journalists,
crosscheck your sources)

