Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria

Meet the “Nightmare Bacteria”

October 22, 2013
/
by Sarah Childress •
Alexander Hyacinthe

Over time, bacteria can become resistant to the antibiotics that once killed them.

The most dangerous today are resistant Gram-negative bacteria, which have stronger structural defenses.
Some Gram-positive bacteria also show high levels of resistance.

Here are some of the more troubling bugs out there today…

Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriacae

AKA: CRE

Why it’s so scary: A family of Gram-negative bacteria that live in the gut, CREs are increasing in frequency and have become resistant to all or nearly all the antibiotics we have today.

Multidrug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

AKA: Acinetobacter

Why it’s so scary: This Gram-negative bacteria appeared in the United States after Iraq and Afghanistan war vets returned home. Acinetobacter is tough enough to survive even on dry surfaces like dust particles, making it easy to pass from host to host, especially in hospital environments.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

AKA: P. aeruginosa

Why it’s so scary: A bacteria linked to serious infections in the bloodstream or in surgical wounds, it can lead to pneumonia and other dangerous complications. Some Pseudomonas strains are resistant to nearly every family of antibiotics.

Clostridium Difficile

AKA: C. Diff

Why it’s so scary: A Gram-positive, C. Diff can live in the gut without causing symptoms before it attacks patients with weakened immune systems. It’s growing — infections increased 400 percent between 2000 and 2007 — and becoming increasingly resistant.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

AKA: MRSA

Why it’s so scary: This Gram-positive bacteria infects about 80,000 people each year and can lead to sepsis and death. MRSA infections have dropped significantly in hospital settings, but in the past decade have increased rapidly in the community.

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

AKA: TB

Why it’s so scary: One of the world’s most common infectious diseases, TB spreads easily through the air when infected people cough or sneeze. It’s increasingly becoming resistant to the drugs used to treat it.

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
All medical illustrations provided by the CDC


In order to foster a civil and literate discussion that respects all participants, FRONTLINE has the following guidelines for commentary. By submitting comments here, you are consenting to these rules:

Readers' comments that include profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, harassment, or are defamatory, sexist, racist, violate a third party's right to privacy, or are otherwise inappropriate, will be removed. Entries that are unsigned or are "signed" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. We reserve the right to not post comments that are more than 400 words. We will take steps to block users who repeatedly violate our commenting rules, terms of use, or privacy policies. You are fully responsible for your comments.

blog comments powered by Disqus

More Stories

Nation’s Largest Mental Health Organization Urges Supported Housing Reforms
January 14, 2019
Meet Muzamil, and See Scenes from Dadaab
December 27, 2018
Landmark Criminal Justice Bill Clears Congress, Heads to Trump’s Desk
December 20, 2018
Fatal Disease Outbreak Among Miners Spurs House Hearings On Coal Mine Dust
December 18, 2018
Show more

Next on FRONTLINE

Coal's Deadly Dust

January 22, 2019
FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the rise of severe black lung disease among coal miners, and the failure to respond.
Support Provided By Learn more