Northern Michigan's News LeaderHealthy Living: Unstoppable Superbugs

Healthy Living: Unstoppable Superbugs

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Antibiotics... 190 million doses are administered in hospitals every day. But what happens when your body becomes so used to the drugs it can no longer fight off serious or even simple infections? In Healthy Living, Robyn Haines tells us why a reckless use of antibiotics may be behind a growing public health threat inside our nation's hospitals.

 

Doctors say while overall cases of MRSA are down, other hospital-acquired bugs are increasing, such as Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Klebsiella. Those are the three worst players right now. Experts say the resistance is caused by overuse, or misuse of antibiotics. Doctor Spellberg says the best ways to fight them is through better practices like hand washing, cooking your food, and living a healthy lifestyle. Also, they want to find out where the infections are stemming from.

 

Doctor Spellberg says 80 percent of the antibiotics used in the U.S. actually go to feed livestock which can lead to resistance in humans. The resistant bacteria can also emerge when patients don't take the full course of their prescribed antibiotics.

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