The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that a deadly bacterium with a 50% fatality rate has entered the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Julia Petras from the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases told the HealthDay News the bacteria is “an environmental organism that lives naturally in the soil, and typically freshwater in certain areas around the world. Mostly in subtropical and tropical climates.”
“This is one of those diseases that is also called the great mimicker because it can look like a lot of different things,” Petras said. “It’s greatly under-reported and under-diagnosed and under-recognized — we often like to say that it’s been the neglected, neglected tropical disease.”
Reporting from Just the News:
The CDC official said that once the bacteria is inside the body, it attacks critical organs like the lungs, brain, and others with an abscess. According to Petras, patients will have pneumonia with sepsis, resulting in higher mortality and deadlier outcomes. ... CDC officials said that it is critical to diagnose this bacterium early and that the CDC recommends drugs like IV and oral antibiotics for treatment. According to Petras, patients with the bacteria receive Meropenem (Merrem) and Ceftazidime (Fortaz) in the first phase, while Amoxicillin is given via pills during the second phase.
