Two of the bacteria species most likely to infect patients are the Gram-positive strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii. While antibiotic drugs to treat diseases caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are available, few effective drugs are available for Acinetobacter. Acinetobacter bacteria are evolving and becoming immune to antibiotics, so in many cases, polymyxin-type antibacterials need to be used. "In many respects it’s far worse than MRSA," said a specialist at Case Western Reserve University. Another growing disease, especially prevalent in New York City<unk> s, is the drug-resistant, Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae. An estimated more than 20% of the Klebsiella<unk> s in Brooklyn<unk> s "are now resistant to virtually all modern antibiotics, and those supergerms are now spreading worldwide." The bacteria, classified as Gram-negative because of their color on the Gram stain, can cause severe pneumonia and<unk> s of the urinary tract, bloodstream, and other parts of the body. Their cell structures make them more difficult to attack with antibiotics than Gram-positive organisms like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In some cases, antibiotic resistance is spreading to Gram-negative bacteria that can infect people outside the<unk> . "For gram-positives we need better drugs; for gram-negatives we need any drugs," said Dr. Brad Spellberg, an<unk> s-disease specialist at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the author of Rising Plague, a book about drug-resistant pathogens.<unk><unk>  pneumonia (HAP) is the second most common nosocomial<unk>  and accounts for approximately one-fourth of all<unk> s in the intensive care unit (ICU). HAP, or nosocomial pneumonia, is a lower respiratory<unk>  that was not incubating at the time of<unk>  admission and that presents clinically 2 or more days after<unk> ization. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as HAP in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. The incidence of VAP is 10%-30% among patients who require mechanical ventilation for >48 h. A standard treatment protocol is based on accurate diagnosis definitions, microbiological confirmation of VAP, and the administration of imipenem plus ciprofloxacin as initial empirical antibiotic treatment. One-third of nosocomial<unk> s are considered preventable. The CDC estimates 2 million people in the United States are infected annually by<unk> s, resulting in 99,000 deaths. The most common nosocomial<unk> s are of the urinary tract, surgical site and various pneumonias. An alternative treatment targeting localised<unk> s is the use of irradiation by ultraviolet C.
Hospital-acquired infection
Laboratory-acquired infection
Transfusion transmitted infection
Foodborne illness
Disseminated disease
Gulf War syndrome
Spillover infection
Blood-borne disease