Two dogs treated in New Jersey last year have tested positive for a drug-resistant strain of bacteria blamed for a deadly outbreak linked to eye drops people use, CDC investigators said Friday. reported. The bacterium discovered, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which produces carbapenemases, is “highly genetically related” to the bacteria linked to 81 illnesses in 18 states last year. A total of 14 patients lost vision and 4 died. CBS News I will report it. “So, because this bacteria was brought into the United States from artificial tears, there is potential for this resistant bacteria to spread,” Emma Price said at a meeting of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service.
Health officials are concerned about bacteria that produce carbapenemases because they can degrade carbapenem antibiotics. This class of drugs is usually reserved for infections that are resistant to other treatments. Resistance genes can spread to other pathogens. The swabs taken from the dogs were sent to a lab in Pennsylvania, which noticed signs of unusual resistance in the bacteria and uploaded the strain’s genetic sequence to a national database. In response, the CDC and state health officials began an investigation. Last fall, the FDA warned consumers about the contaminated eye drops and issued a recall. (There’s more about superbugs.)
