Super bacteria infections exceed 5,000 cases this year

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Super bacterial infections that cannot be easily treated by antibiotics exceeded 5,000 cases this year, a report by the health ministry submitted to the National Assembly showed Tuesday.
   The findings showed that as of July, 44 hospitals around the country reported 5,251 case of patients being infected with virulent bacterial strains.
   Super bacteria are hard to kill using regular treatment methods and can be fatal to people with weak immune systems or suffering from serious health conditions.
   It said that at one hospital, more than 100 cases of super bacterial infections were reported.
   The report also showed that in 2010, there were 3,965 cases of super bacterial infections reported by 63 hospital nationwide.
   Rep. Yang Seung-jo, who checked into the findings, said that there is a pressing need for a more systematic reporting process for infections involving super bacteria and to share the information to keep people better informed.
   Experts, meanwhile, have said that there is no real reason for panic since super bacteria can still be treated effectively, especially since new antibiotics are being introduced in hospitals and the careful selection of antibiotics to treat patients staves off the spread of such bacteria.
   yonngong@yna.co.kr
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