Deadly, Drug Resistant super bug – Klebsiella pneumoniae

The Department of Health alerted the public for the possible of the entry of  ”super bug” in the Philippines.

Klebsiella  pneumoniae resistant strains have been recorded in USA with a roughly threefold increase in Chicago cases, Brazil with 15 deaths per 163 cases, quarantined individuals in Israel, United Kingdom and parts of Europe. Possible ground zero, or location of emergence, is the India-Pakistan border.

A strain known as Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumonia (CRKP) was estimated to be involved in 350 cases in Los Angeles County between June and December 2010.

Klebsiella pneumonia tends to affect people with underlying diseases, such as alcoholism, diabetes and chronic lung disease, elderly patients who often stay in facilities for an extended period of time.

• Symptoms: night sweats, a cough with heavy phlegm that is usually a rusty or burnt orange colour, chest pain, fever and shortness of breath.