superbugs
Drug-resistant infectious microbes
Superbugs are bacteria or other microorganisms that have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics or other drugs normally used to treat them.
The term emerged as antibiotic overuse accelerated bacterial evolution: MRSA is one of the most feared superbugs in hospitals.
Superbugs pose a growing public health threat because standard treatments fail against them, requiring stronger or experimental drugs—if any work at all.
Drug-resistant staph infection
- PseudomonasBacterial genus, often pathogenic
- gonorrheaSexually transmitted bacterial disease
- SalmonellaRod-shaped food-poisoning bacterium
- E. coliIntestinal rod-shaped bacterium
Originating within medical facilities
- ICUAcute care ward
- immunocompromisedReduced ability to fight infection
- infection controlPreventing pathogen transmission
- hand hygieneCleaning one's palms
isolation · screening · decolonization · outbreak · cross-contamination · healthcare workers · sepsis · wound infection
Microbes surviving intended killers
- multidrug-resistantUnaffected by multiple treatments
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- plasmidsCircular extrachromosomal DNA elements
- selective pressureInfluence favoring certain traits
biofilm · overprescription · gene transfer · cross-resistance
Systematic observation of subjects
- CDCU.S. public health agency
- WHOUN health authority
- public healthCommunity-level disease prevention
- quarantineIsolation preventing disease transmission
containment · vaccine development · combination therapy · infection prevention · research funding
MRSA
Drug-resistant staph infection
- PseudomonasBacterial genus, often pathogenic
- gonorrheaSexually transmitted bacterial disease
- SalmonellaRod-shaped food-poisoning bacterium
hospital-acquired
Originating within medical facilities
- ICUAcute care ward
- immunocompromisedReduced ability to fight infection
- infection controlPreventing pathogen transmission
hand hygiene · isolation · screening · decolonization · outbreak · cross-contamination · healthcare workers · sepsis · wound infection
antibiotic resistance
Microbes surviving intended killers
- multidrug-resistantUnaffected by multiple treatments
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- plasmidsCircular extrachromosomal DNA elements
selective pressure · biofilm · overprescription · gene transfer · cross-resistance
surveillance
Systematic observation of subjects
- CDCU.S. public health agency
- WHOUN health authority
- public healthCommunity-level disease prevention
quarantine · containment · vaccine development · combination therapy · infection prevention · research funding
- Health Threatsdisease, epidemic, pandemic, virus, outbreak
- Health Hazardsair pollution, asbestos, carbon monoxide, chemical spills, cholera
- microbiologybacteria, bacterium, microbe, microbes, microorganisms
- antibioticsamoxicillin, penicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, azithromycin
- zoonotic diseaseszoonosis, zoonoses, zoonotic disease, rabies, leptospirosis
- bioweaponsanthrax, bioweapon, bioweapons, bioterrorism, biowarfare
superbugsprobiotics
Live microorganisms aiding digestion
beneficial bacteria · gut flora · microbiome · symbiotic bacteria · lactobacillus