Cases of CRE on the Rise in the Southeast; Article Emphasizes Need for Vigilance

In some regions of the southeastern United States, cases of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) increased fivefold from 2008 to 2012, states a July 31, 2014, USA Today article. Like the more commonly known Clostridium difficile and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), CRE is a family of bacteria that has increasingly become resistant to last-resort antibiotics. CRE-related illnesses vary by infection site and can range from gastrointestinal illness and pneumonia to bloodstream infections. According to the article, CRE infections mostly affect vulnerable, hospitalized patients and kill nearly half who get bloodstream infections—making it among the least treatable and deadliest of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.