Elder Law

New Superbug Risk for Nursing Home Residents

By Levin & Perconti

Nursing homes often pose unique risks for bacteria outbreaks because of the close proximity in which many sick residents live. For that reason, our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti know that the professionals who run these facilities must take all precautions possible to ensure that residents remain safe and healthy at all times.

The Chicago Tribune recently profiled a new type of bacteria that is spreading in many local facilities, including nursing homes, that is presenting particularly challenging problems for doctors. The new superbug is resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics. The bacterium, known as KPC, was first reported 11years ago.

However earlier this year, the bug began popping up at facilities areas our area. Of particular concern to experts is the fact that the bacterium has sprung up in a variety of different locations, meaning that the chance for mass outbreak is larger. The bacteria live in the gut of a patients and often enter the body through intravenous catheters or through the urinary tract and blood vessels of sick patients.

Earlier this year an outbreak of KPC in Brazil killed 18 patients.

About 40% of the patients who contract KPC ultimately die from the bacteria. That number may be higher for vulnerable seniors whose bodies often struggle when fighting off medical problems?their immune systems are much more easily compromised. As it now stands over 75% of patients identified with the bacteria were in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. If you or someone you know resides in a nursing facility, please be on extra alert for signs of contraction of KPC. The costs are too high to ignore.

Please Click Here to read more about this growing nursing home problem.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).