Progress in Suppressing Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens

The Centers for Disease Control issued an update on the prevalence of drug resistant pathogens in their Vital Signs report.  The CDC operates the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (ARLN) established in 2016 to detect and monitor antibiotic resistance with specific reference to carbapenemase genes. At the present time the ARLN coordinates 56 state and local cooperating laboratories.   There are presently five known carbapenem-resistant (CRE) genes:Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase gene (KPC)Imipenemase (IMP) New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) Verona Integron-Encoded Metallo-beta-lactamase (VIM) Oxacillinase-48 (OXA). Screening of 1,489 contacts of infected patients in 50 medical facilities yielded pathogens carrying one of the five carbapenemase genes in 11 percent of the isolates. The CDC report indicates the role of medical facilities and current approaches to antibiotic therapy in the emergence, spread and persistence of antibiotic resistance in pathogens. This is a human medical problem unrelated to livestock production.