"Superbug" Storming into Chicago Hospitals

New research from Rush University and the Cook County Department of Public Health found that a superbug is roaming Chicago hospitals at a much higher rate than last year.

The bug in question is Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase, or KPC, an enzyme produced by common bacteria. The enzyme makes bacteria resistant to a class of antibiotics typically used as a last resort when other treatments fail.

Since last year, the number of Chicago hospitals and LTC facilities reporting KPC-producing bacteria has swelled from 26 to 37, an increase of 42 percent. The average number of patients with KPC at each of these facilities also grew from four to 10.

The study's presenters emphasized that it's important to try and get KPC under control as soon as possible so it doesn't become as rampant as MRSA.

KPC has been found to kill 40 percent of the people it infects. It is typically spread through contact with an infected person or on the unclean hands of healthcare workers. It doesn't typically sicken healthy people, instead favoring immunocompromised individuals, such as nursing home residents and hospital patients.

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