Global General

Superbug infections surge in Brazilian district

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-22 13:33

BRASILIA - A drug-resistant strain of bacteria is causing a rapidly mounting number of infections in the Brazilian capital and other areas in the district, local health authorities said Thursday.

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Across the Federal District, carriers of bacteria containing the Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase (KPC) enzyme rose to 183 on Thursday, a nearly 70 percent hike in two weeks, according to the district's health department.

Meanwhile, deaths related to the killer bacteria, resistant to most of the common antibiotics on the Brazilian market, increased from 15 on October 15 to 18 on Thursday, the department added.

On Wednesday, Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao announced that confirmed cases of KPC infection had also been found in the states of Sao Paulo and Parana, but no deaths were reported there.

KPC bacteria behave like viruses in the sense that most antibiotics do not work against them. Those infected tend to have a weakened immune system.

Brazilian health authorities believe that indiscriminate use of antibiotics is the main cause, and they have begun making new regulations to prevent the sale of antibiotics without prescriptions.