Untreatable, antibiotic-resistant infections from a rare but life-threatening super bug are on the rise in United States hospitals. Early in 2012, close to 200 hospitals and long-term care facilities treated at least one person infected with bacteria from the Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) family, and 50% of patients who contract bloodstream CRE infections will die. These bacteria can spread among patients and on the hands of health care workers. This kind of transmission can produce new deadly infections for hospital patients, and potentially for normally healthy people as well. To date, nearly all CRE infections occur in people receiving medical care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, or nursing homes.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 2013