Oklahomans Safe from New Superbug -- For Now

Superbugs -- infectious organisms that have developed a resistant to antibiotics -- are in the news. The latest strain of organism giving health care officials cause for concern is carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRPK. To date, Oklahoma is not one of the 35 states where CRPK is known to be present.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, have been watching and studying this mutated strain of Klebsiella for more than a decade. It wasn't until 2002 that any more than 1 percent of reported Klebsiella pneumoniae infections were caused by the mutated strain of the bacteria. KPC is the name given by the medical community to this bacteria that produces an enzyme that disables antibiotics.

In 2002, for reasons yet undetermined, KPC began becoming responsible for more infections in nursing homes and hospitals in both New York and New Jersey. KPC prevalence grew to 8 percent of reported Klebsiella pneumoniae infections.

Since then, KPC infections have been reported in at least 35 states, including Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico and California. Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Hawaii and Alaska are among the states where an increase in the incidence of KPC infections has not been reported -- at least, not yet.

The infection, which typically strikes the critically ill with a fatality rate of 30 percent to 60 percent, is spreading to other countries worldwide, including China, Columbia and Israel, reports "USA Today."

Currently, KPC is of more concern to the medical community than is MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphyloccocus aureus. This is because in the 15 or so years since MRSA became a health threat, new antibiotics have been developed, providing the medical community with new infection-fighting weapons. It will take time for new drugs to be researched and developed before any such new weapons exist for KPC.

It's important to note that KPC is not a concern out in the community. The infections reported have all been in people who are patients or residents in health care settings.

Smack dab in the middle of the baby boomer generation, L.L. Woodard is a proud resident of "The Red Man" state. With what he hopes is an everyman's view of life's concerns both in his state and throughout the nation, Woodard presents facts and opinions based on common-sense solutions.