Swedish scientist warns of an epidemic of bacteria at a Vietnamese hospital

The group of researchers from Linkoping University, Sweden, surveyed more than 2,200 patients in 12 Vietnamese hospitals.

The results of the study have just been reported, the longer the inpatient patients in the hospital, the higher the risk of infection with Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) , also called Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. In particular, carbapenems are antibiotic groups with broad spectrum of activity, which are prioritized for use in treatment of multi-resistant bacteria.

Scientists warn of an increased risk of getting a virus into epidemics in Vietnamese hospitals. In fact, in the first 8 patients admitted to hospital, only one carried the virus, after 2 weeks the hospitalization increased to 7 people. In addition, this bacterium is resistant to a variety of antibiotics, making it difficult to destroy and can spread quickly by exposure and daily supplies.

Professor Hakan Hanberger, head of research and work at Linkoping University's clinical practice unit, said: "This is just the tip of the iceberg, we are on alert, in the middle of the disease ".

Enterobacteriaceae cells are resistant to carbapenem.(Photo: SCMP).

With resistance to many drugs, Carbapenem-resistant intestinal bacteria cause disease in about 87% of patients who have been hospitalized within 2 weeks. It spreads most rapidly in countries in the subtropics with limited health care, increasing the risk of death from infectious diseases.

In an earlier study of 328 infants in an intensive care unit, the researchers found the bacteria to be particularly dangerous to babies. The mortality rate increased fivefold with the risk of fetal infections such as urinary tract infections, septicemia, pneumonia.

With the risk of widespread spread of CRE bacteria, scientists recommend that effective measures should be taken to reduce the spread of infection in hospitals such as hand hygiene and sterility during surgery and treatment. Intravenous catheters or isolation patients with multidrug-resistant intestinal bacteria. Besides, patients should be monitored even when they have been discharged to reduce the spread of the community.