New strains of E coli cause concern

摘要

Infection control specialists have called on GPs and other community health care professionals to be more vigilant against new and highly infectious strains of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase(ESBL)Escherichia coli,now regarded as a serious threat to public health in many parts of the UK.Although ESBL-producing pathogens were first recognised in the 1980s,new CTX-M strains can produce a particular type of ESBL that are able to break down a wider range of antibiotics.They are now causing an alarming increase in the incidence of both hospital and community infections in the UK,typically,urinary tract infections(UTIs).