by KYW's medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough
Superbugs. It is such a dramatic term but such a realistic description.
Bacteria like methicilin resistant staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin resistant enterococcus can be incredibly difficult to treat and they can be particularly aggressive in the very young and the very old. That is why a growing number of children’s hospitals are starting to test for these when kids are admitted.
Here is what happens. In-patients who are identified as positive are isolated in a private room or otherwise put in the same room as a patient who is known to have the same bacteria and we do that because it's been shown that if you keep patients together then hopefully you can protect or prevent transmission of that bacteria from a patient with to a patient without that bacteria.
Fortunately awareness of the problem is growing and the hope is to limit spread.
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