Bug is fatal in half of CPE blood infections

TESTING positive for a superbug does not mean you face imminent death.

A lot of perfectly healthy people will have some form of colonisation of a bug – super or otherwise – in their gut.

And as that is where it normally stays, healthy people usually don’t get CPE infections.

Colonisation relates to the presence of micro-organisms living harmlessly on the skin or within the bowel and causing no signs or symptoms of infection. However, it is when the bug enters the bloodstream that problems arise. This usually occurs in patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings.

Those most at risk of CPE infections include patients whose care requires devices such as ventilators, or urinary or intravenous catheters, and patients taking long courses of certain antibiotics. Patients colonised or infected with CPE may seek medical care in more than one hospital – facilitating its spread from one facility to another.

According to the HSE, it can take up to four weeks from the time you pick up CPE before it is found in lab tests.

Once CPE infects the bloodstream, it can be very difficult to treat and is associated with high mortality of up to 50%. CPE was first identified in parts of Asia and America in the last 15 to 20 years but may have been spreading for some time before then.

15-20 years ago was when the bug was first identified