Article Content

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued alerts regarding a new coronavirus and carbapenem-resistant organisms. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) occur in hospitalized patients on ventilators, with catheters, or taking prolonged courses of antibiotics. CRE infections are of particular concern because carbapenems are considered last-resort antibiotics. In 2012, 18% of long-term acute care hospitals reported a case of CRE, which kills as many as half of infected patients. The CDC's CRE Toolkit contains prevention and treatment guidelines: http://1.usa.gov/LGQmJp. Anyone who develops severe acute lower respiratory illness within 10 days of visiting the Arabian Peninsula should be evaluated for a novel coronavirus similar to that implicated in the severe acute respiratory syndrome. The strain originated in Saudi Arabia and as of this writing had infected 14 people in Middle Eastern countries and the United Kingdom, killing eight. Up-to-date information can be found at http://1.usa.gov/YFTqNW.