Here are the three most common infection problems, and others considered urgent or serious threats, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
C. difficile (Clostridium difficile): When antibiotics such as clindamycin wipe out bacteria that protect the colon, the patient is exposed to C. difficile, which inflames the colon and causes severe diarrhea. The CDC considers this an “urgent threat.”
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus): Can cause flesh-eating disease. Considered a “serious” threat by the CDC.
VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococci): Can cause sepsis, meningitis or pneumonia. Considered a “serious” threat.
Other Urgent Threats
CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae): Includes Klebsiella and E. coli. Can cause bloodstream infections, wound infections and pneumonia.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Sexually transmitted disease that can lead to chronic pain, infertility in men and women and life-threatening complications.
Other Serious Threats
ESBL (extended-spectrum beta lactamase): Can cause intestinal, urinary or respiratory symptoms.
Drug-resistant strains of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses, such as shigella, campylobacter and salmonella
Drug-resistant tuberculosis is resistant to the two most powerful first-line treatments used to treat this infection, which typically attacks the lungs.
Recent Posts
Meet Anne Dale, Dentistry’s Unofficial Historian
The museum she curates at the Faculty of Dentistry holds thousands of objects that tell the story of the profession in Canada
Heroes of Our Time
Members of the U of T community are working alongside colleagues from around the world to respond to the pandemic
Whose Stories Do We Tell?
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography aims to record noteworthy lives from “all points of view.” Six decades into its mission, what that means is still up for debate
