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Superbugs are on the way: AHS – Metro US

Superbugs are on the way: AHS

Doctors in Edmonton are confirming a media report that says that there’s a relatively new way for bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics, and it’s leaving few choices for treatment.

“This is the latest twist on what is really an old story: The gradual accumulation of resistance to antibiotics that we see in bacteria,” said Dr. Mark Joffe, Alberta Health Services (AHS) senior medical director.

“As they accumulate new ways of becoming resistant to the antibiotics, we may have fewer and fewer choices left for treatment.”

Dr. Gerry Predy, AHS senior medical officer of health, said there was a patient infected with this new organism in the spring, but wouldn’t go into details. Only one similar infection has been reported in Canada, a woman who was successfully treated in B.C.

“We are concerned about it, for sure,” Joffe said. “We’re concerned about this globally because most of the strains that have been identified so far come from the Indian subcontinent and the U.K.”

Joffe said we will start to see them more frequently.

“We have to maintain surveillance for this organism so we can identify when it comes up,” Predy said. “The important thing is to maintain strong infection prevention.”

Joffe said anyone considering travel for medical treatment anywhere in the world needs to consider their options carefully and weigh the risks.