Super insects kill 33,000 people each year in Europe

CITY OF MEXICO, November 6 ( AlMomentoMX ) .- The medical community is on alert for the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Infections caused by drug-resistant superbugs kill around 33,000 people each year in Europe

. An badysis by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) found that the impact of drug-resistant infections has increased since 2007, with a worrying increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria of last resort.

"This (…) is worrisome because these antibiotics are the last available treatment option and when they are no longer effective, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to treat infections," said Dr. 39, ECDC in a statement.

Experts estimate that about 70% of bacteria can already cause an infection They are resistant to at least one antibiotic commonly used to treat them. This has made the evolution of superbugs one of the biggest threats that medicine is facing today.

The death toll is equivalent to that of all those who produce "influenza, tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS" each year. combined in the 28 members of the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, said the study published in the newspaper Lancet Infectious Diseases.

In addition, the survey found that children Italy and Greece.

The ECDC study also found that about 75% of strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are produced in hospitals and other health care facilities.

While in 39% of cases, patients are infected with a bacterium that antibiotics clbadified by the World Health Organization (WHO) can not even do anything "reserve", that is to say as a last resort, among them carbapenems or colistin. When this point is reached, the treatment is very difficult, if not impossible.

To improve the situation, the experts of ECDC proposed a joint effort of the medical system and the political system, which consists in particular of prescribing and taking antibiotics only when it is really necessary. . In addition, we must respect hygiene protocols, especially in hospitals, and isolate patients with resistant bacteria. Finally, it is necessary to search for new antibiotic substances.

AM.MX/dsc

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