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A28 SCIENCE
Friday 15 November 2019
U.S. superbug infections rising, but deaths are falling

By MIKE STOBBE relied on new data and the CDC turned to new
AP Medical Writer it recalculated the 2013 data sources. For exam-
NEW YORK (AP) — Drug- numbers, resulting in larger ple, some earlier estimates
resistant “superbug” infec- baseline estimates. were based on reports
tions have been called a The 2013 report estimat- from about 180 hospitals.
developing nightmare that ed more than 23,000 U.S. This time, CDC was able to
could set medicine back deaths and more than draw from the electronic
a century, making con- 2 million infections each health records of about 700
quered germs once again year from superbugs. Those U.S. hospitals.
untreatable. numbers were based on 17 Among the CDC’s other
So there’s some surprising germs that were consid- findings:
news in a report released ered the greatest threat. —There were fewer cases
Wednesday: U.S. superbug That count did not include of several nasty hospital-
deaths appear to be going deaths and illnesses from a associated germs, includ-
down. nasty bug called Clostrid- ing drug-resistant tubercu-
About 36,000 Americans ium difficile, because the losis and the bug known as
died from drug-resistant in- This 1971 microscope image made available by the Centers for germ still is cowed by the MRSA.
Disease Control and Prevention shows Neisseria gonorrhoeae
fections in 2017, down 18% bacteria, which causes the sexually transmitted disease gonor- drugs used to treat it. But C. —Infections from a so-
from an estimated 44,000 rhea. diff is considered part of the called “nightmare bacte-
in 2013, the Centers for Dis- Associated Press larger problem, because ria” — carbapenem-resis-
ease Control and Preven- it can grow out of control tant Enterobacteriaceae,
tion estimated. The decline the report says. widely available in the when antibiotics kill other or CRE — held steady in-
is mainly attributed to an For example, urinary tract 1940s, and today dozens bacteria. C. diff infections stead of increasing, to the
intense effort in hospitals to infections have been easily are used to kill or suppress and deaths, fortunately, relief of health officials.
control the spread of par- treated in doctor’s offices the bacteria behind illness- have also been declining. Officials credit hospitals for
ticularly dangerous infec- with common antibiotics. es ranging from strep throat Overall, public health of- using antibiotics more ju-
tions. But it’s increasingly com- to the plague. The drugs ficials acknowledge the diciously, and to do more
“We are pushing back in a mon to see young healthy are considered among superbug problem is prob- to isolate patients with re-
battle we were losing,” said women with such infec- medicine’s greatest ad- ably even bigger. A 2018 sistant infections. They also
Michael Kirsch, a pharma- tions forced into the hospi- vances, and have saved paper suggested more believe government fund-
cist at AdventHealth Tam- tal after initial treatments countless lives. than 153,000 Americans die ing for laboratories has
pa, a Florida hospital that don’t work, said Dr. Bradley But as decades passed, each year with — though helped investigators labs
has seen lower superbug Frazee, a California emer- some antibiotics stopped not necessarily from — su- more quickly spot drug-
infection rates. “I would not gency room doctor. working. Experts say their perbug infections. resistant germs and take
by any means declare suc- “We never really worried overuse and misuse have The difference stems from steps against them.
cess.” about this kind of antibiotic helped make them less ef- where researchers get their Still, CDC officials said
Indeed, though deaths resistance in the past,” said fective. data and on what’s includ- there’s hardly cause for
are going down, nonfatal Frazee, who last year co- The new report marks only ed. “There’s not universal celebration. “There are still
infections grew nationally authored a journal article the second time the CDC agreement on what consti- way too many people dy-
from 2.6 million in 2013 to documenting more than has tried to measure the tutes a drug-resistant infec- ing,” said Michael Craig, a
2.8 million in 2017. Some 1,000 drug-resistant urinary numbers of U.S. illnesses tion,” said the paper’s lead leader in CDC’s superbug
worrisome new germs are tract infections in one year and deaths attributed to author, Dr. Jason Burnham threat-assessment work.
emerging. And superbugs at Highland Hospital in drug-resistant germs. The of Washington University in “We have a long way to go
are appearing much more Oakland. first was released six years St. Louis. before we can feel we can
often outside of hospitals, Antibiotics first became ago. This time, the agency For Wednesday’s report, even get ahead of this.”q

Japan spacecraft starts yearlong

journey home from asteroid

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Hayabusa2 staff at the (40 miles) from the asteroid
Associated Press command center stood up and out of its the gravita-
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese and cheered when JAXA tional pull. After that, Ryugu
spacecraft left a distant project manager Yuichi will be out of its sight.
asteroid on Wednesday, Tsuda confirmed the de- "It's sad to say goodbye
This image released on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, by the Ja- starting its yearlong jour- parture. to Ryugu," Tsuda said at a
pan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), shows asteroid
Ryugu taken by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. ney home after success- The spacecraft captured briefing Tuesday. "Literally it
Associated Press fully completing its mission and transmitted to Earth has been at the center of
to gather soil samples and some of its final images of our lives over the past 1½
data that could provide Ryugu, or "Dragon Palace," years."
clues to the origins of the named after a sea-bottom The spacecraft will then
solar system, the country's castle in a Japanese folk ignite its main thrusters in
space agency said. tale, as it slowly began early December to propel
The Japan Aerospace Ex- moving away, JAXA said. it back to Earth.
ploration Agency said the Hayabusa2 will continue its "We expect Hayabusa2 will
Hayabusa2 spacecraft left "farewell filming" of the as- bring us new scientific in-
its orbit around the asteroid teroid for a few more days. sights," Tsuda said.
Ryugu, about 300 million ki- Hayabusa2 will adjust its "Not only the data, but tan-
lometers (180 million miles) position about Nov. 18 af- gible samples will be in our
from Earth. ter retreating 65 kilometers hands."q