Experts say the risk is greatest, but still not high, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings where people tend to be sick often. Also, hospitalized patients are surrounded by others whose infectious diseases may spread, and their immune systems may be weakened and incapable of beating the infectious bugs. This bacterium, which is the biggest cause of infections in patients in U.S. hospitals, can infect burns, skin, and surgical wounds. Some strains of S. aureus have already shown resistance to all antibiotics other than vancomycin, raising the fear that an invincible strain is near at hand. This organism can cause everything from urinary tract to heart valve infections.
Some strains can outmatch many previously effective antibiotics.
Up to 30 percent of the strains of this bacterium, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and ear infections, are at least partially resistant to antibiotics in the penicillin family, according to the Mayo Clinic. Luckily, Goldberger says, there is a renewed interest among U.S. drug companies in developing new antibiotics to target organisms that are developing resistance. Earlier this year, an FDA advisory panel recommended approval for the antibiotic Synercid. Too Much of a Good Thing Experts say that doctors are sometimes quick to prescribe antibiotics for all sorts of symptoms, even though antibiotics work only against bacterial infections, not viruses such as the flu or the common cold. More than 50 million of the 150 million antibiotic prescriptions written each year for patients outside of hospitals are unnecessary, according to a recent CDC study.