Flesh-eating germ in 31 of 63 state hospitals

With the CDC sounding alarms about a terrifying antibiotic-resistant superbug — detected in nearly half of Massachusetts hospitals — state health experts are pushing for tougher antibiotic controls and better hygiene to get this incredibly tough and highly contagious flesh-eating germ under control.

“Unnecessary use of antibiotics drives drug resistance,” said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, the state Department of Public Health’s Infectious Disease Bureau medical director, as hospitals reminded staff to be meticulous about hand-washing and make sure infected patients have private rooms.

The federal Centers for Disease Control this week reported that the bacteria known as carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, was found in 200 different health-care facilities in 2012. That’s a staggering increase from 2001, when CRE was first detected in one hospital. The CDC didn’t release state-by-state data, but a 2012 study found CRE cases in 31 of the Bay State’s 63 hospitals.

“These bacteria are being detected now in 42 of 50 states, so they’re all over the country, and the CDC has fully acknowledged that,” Tufts Medical Center infectious disease expert Dr. Helen Boucher said. “And we know they’re in Massachusetts. They’re all over Massachusetts.”

Health-care professionals are rattled by the spread because the bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics has led to high mortality rates — with as many as half the infected patients dying. Treatments involve heavy antibiotics and surgery that can include amputation.

“We have to have conversations with our patients telling them we are doing everything we can do to prevent these infections,” Boucher said. “Unfortunately, treating them includes using toxic antibiotics because we have so few effective antibiotics right now for these, and doing things like surgeries to cut out the infections.”

CREs are also troubling because they appear to be able to transfer their antibiotic resistance to other bacteria. Researchers are scrambling to get a better sense of how they spread.

Only six states now require hospitals to report CRE cases to state health agents. Massachusetts is adding CREs to its reportable infection list, a DPH spokeswoman said.

Boucher said she hopes the CDC warning will help, prompting simple measures that could help hospitals, nursing homes and health-care facilities limit the spread of CREs.

“We need to act now to prevent them from becoming an even bigger problem,” she said. BH