Los Angeles County hospitals and nursing homes reported a total of 356 cases of a potentially fatal, drug-resistant bacterium during a seven-month period, health officials said Thursday.
Known as carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRKP, the organism is resistant to almost all antibiotics, health officials said. It is spread primarily from person-to-person in health facilities.
"We cannot address the issue of why we're seeing these high rates," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
"We don't know what the genesis of these infections are."
Health experts collected reports of cases from laboratories from June to December, 2010. Fielding said he believes it is the first time a public health department has required hospitals to report cases to laboratories.
But Dawn Terashita, medical epidemiologist with the county who collected the data, said she could not determine the number of patients who survived or died.
"We didn't look at outcomes," she said. "It's something that we're thinking about doing in the future."
Of the 356 cases, 42 percent were found in long-term care acute hospitals, 6 percent in nursing homes, and the rest in general hospitals.
Local hospitals acknowledge CRKP's presence, but officials say cases so far have been sporadic. It can target those who are repeatedly treated for complications of various chronic ailments and
its symptoms can vary, but oftentimes it mimics pneumonia."We think this is increasing but that would require more study over a longer period of time," Fielding said.
He said the presence of CRKP emphasizes the need to examine the public's overuse of antibiotics. Hand washing, as well as ongoing surveillance should be emphasized to prevent an increase, Fielding said.
"These bacteria that are difficult to treat are dangerous," Fielding said. "They are of concern."
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