CRE

CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) infections come from bacteria that are normally found in a healthy person’s digestive tract. When a person is receiving serious medical care (for example, involving urinary catheters, intravenous catheters, or surgery) these bacteria can end up where they don’t belong—for example in the bladder or blood. Because these bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics, these infections are very difficult to treat. 

Did you know?

• Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most pressing public health threats.

• The bacteria known as CRE kill up to half of patients who get bloodstream infections.

• In 2012 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documented that people in 42 states had been infected with CRE bacteria.

• Even the antibiotics known as ‘the last resort’ medications no longer work and have made some infections impossible to cure.

• Antibiotic overuse increases the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

Adapted from CRE: 'The Nightmare Bacteria', Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology