National Institutes of Health scientists this fall discovered new “hypervirulent” multidrug resistant strains of centuries-old Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic bacterium highly dangerous to nursing home patients.
K. pneumonia most commonly leads to pneumonia, but the pathogen also causes meningitis and infections in the bloodstream, wound or surgical sites and urinary tract infections.
Multidrug-resistant organisms “continue to pose a significant threat to nursing homes, particularly in close living quarters and among those with weakened immune systems,” according to Heather Hutson, RN, founder of Prevention ID.
“The epidemiology of K. pneumoniae is changing and it’s highly concerning,” added Doe Kley, RN, infection prevention fellow for Clorox Professional. “We’ve seen a lot of drug resistance with this and other emerging pathogens.”
Compounding matters is the fact that new kinds of antimicrobials quickly become obsolete, which has led to weakened incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs, Kley added.
“The real threat nursing homes face is a lack of preparedness for whatever may be around the corner, whether that is another emerging pathogen or a geographic catastrophe,” said Evelyn Cook, associate director, Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Some infection preventionists believe COVID distracted providers from managing disease transmission. Kley supports a horizontal approach to infection control.
“During the last several years, our attention has been on a single pathogen,” she said. “When we do this, other pathogens — like C. auris — can proliferate in the background.
“The good news is that infection control measures work,” Kley added. “This includes things like antimicrobial stewardship, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions (when indicated), hand hygiene and environmental cleaning and disinfection.”
According to the NIH, a vaccine approach for prevention/treatment of [future] K. pneumoniae infections is feasible.
From the December 2023 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
