There is a substantial threat to human health in China, and it could become a global epidemic if not contained. As an antibiotic resistant super bug is making its way across the country and the new deadly illness spreads, the mainstream media remains tightlipped about this potential epidemic.
Infowars’ editor note reads:
We’re horrified to learn that we’re the first international news outlet to bring massive attention to this story. This superbug was first revealed in The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal. Until now, this story went underreported in the media, with only a handful of regional outlets providing limited coverage.
The Lancet has titled their article: A fatal outbreak of ST11 carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Chinese hospital: a molecular epidemiological study. It bears to reason that this may be something that the general public should be concerned about, and the silence by mainstream media is telling.
Scientists in Hangzhou, China have discovered a new strain of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia which spreads incredibly fast. They completed a study following a 2016 outbreak in a hospital ICU (intensive care unit) which led to the deaths of five patients ranging in age from 53 to 73.
According to The Lancet:
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae strains often cause life-threatening community-acquired infections in [a] young and healthy host but are usually sensitive to antibiotics. In this study, we investigated a fatal outbreak of ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by a new emerging hypervirulent K pneumoniae strain. The outbreak occurred in the integrated intensive care unit of a new branch of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China).
We collected 21 carbapenem-resistant K pneumoniae strains from five patients and characterised these strains for their antimicrobial susceptibility, multilocus sequence types, and genetic relatedness using VITEK-2 compact system, multilocus sequence typing, and whole genome sequencing. We selected one representative isolate from each patient to establish the virulence potential using a human neutrophil assay and Galleria mellonella model and to establish the genetic basis of their hypervirulence phenotype.
According to Infowars, the findings in the published piece by The Lancet are obviously less than enticing. Researchers concluded that the triple-threat posed by this new superbug poses a “substantial threat to human health because they are simultaneously hypervirulent, multidrug resistant, and highly transmissible.”
K. pneumoniae (ST11 CR-HvKP) is a deadly combination of two previously known strains of pneumonia; one which shrugs off all but the toughest antibiotics, and the other which is classified as “very severe” and “hypervirulent” in terms of lethality and how quickly it spreads. And failure to control the spread of this super bug will make it a global epidemic.
The new report also reveals that samples from several other areas of China were tested and came back positive for the new superbug. The researchers also stated clearly: “Control measures should be implemented to prevent further dissemination of such organisms.” This means there’s a potential for a global outbreak if China cannot contain this new suber bug.
While Allergan’s U.S. approved antibiotic of last resort “Avibactam” can likely handle the ST11 CR-HvKP strain, yet the antibiotic is not available in China, which currently has nothing in its pharmaceutical arsenal to battle this particular infection. This is highly concerning to epidemiologists, Liang Chen and Barry Kreisworth. Both are calling the new strain of pneumoniae an “alarming evolutionary event.” According to Chen, “The microbe can fight off all drugs available in China. We don’t have anything in China to stop it. There is a drug available in the U.S. that should be effective against it, but we haven’t tested it yet.” Until China approves Avibactam or a similarly effective antibiotic of last resort, doctors and health officials can only prevent the spread of hypervirulent pneumonia by quickly identifying outbreaks and isolating the infected persons.
Chen went on to say “the disease progresses very fast. It starts in the lungs and then infects other organs, like the liver.” The five patients who have died from this strain were all older than 53. They were all on ventilators after undergoing major surgeries and they died from severe lung failure, multiorgan failure, or septic shock, the researchers found.
