Drug-resistant germs called Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, are on the rise and have become more resistant to last-resort antibiotics during the past decade.  These bacteria are causing more hospitalized patients to get infections that, in some cases, are impossible to treat. To help members, a CRE toolkit is available on the CDC website.

The site contains facility-level prevention strategies, including core measures for long-term care facilities. CRE are lethal bacteria that pose a triple threat: 

To view and download the guidance issued by the CDC, click here.

Resistance: CRE are resistant to all, or nearly all, the antibiotics we have – even our most powerful drugs of last-resort.

Death: CRE have high mortality rates – CRE germs kill 1 in 2 patients who get bloodstream infections from them.

Spread of disease:  CRE easily transfer their antibiotic resistance to other bacteria.  For example, carbapenem-resistant klebsiella can spread its drug-destroying weapons to a normal E. coli bacteria, which makes the E. coli resistant to antibiotics also. That could create a nightmare scenario since E. coli is the most common cause of urinary tract infections in healthy people.

CARBAPENEM RESISTANT ENTEROBACTERIACEAE (CRE): Fact Sheet