NIAID
Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria
Portugal registered a 43% increase in the number of new cases of Klebsiella between 2019 and 2023. Program “Fundamental”, without leadership a year ago, lets the country get sick before Europe, which launched the alert.
The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) warned this Thursday to the increase in the incidence of infection by multipurpose bacteria such as the Klebsiellawith Portugal in seventh place in the largest number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.
The information was revealed this Thursday, which cites a warning published on the European Center website for the ECDC that indicates that Portugal registered between 2019 and 2023 one 43% increase in the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants (incidence), from 2.93 to 4.19, above the European average of 3.97, which rose 57%.
Portugal is “bad in photography”, explains the newspaper, which advances that the DGS program that will be responsible for managing this crisis has been without director for a year. José Artur Paiva, the last director of the Antimicrobial Infections and Resistance Prevention and Resistance Program (PPCira), left office in February 2024 and has not yet been replaced.
“It’s a key program and needs leadership,” ULS São João director of Intensive Medicine tells JN.
“Several signs” of deterioration epidemiological
With higher incidence values in the infection of Klebsiella pneumoniaie resistant to carbepenemes (a class of antibiotics) in relation to Portugal (among 30 countries) are Only six states: Croatia (4.53); Bulgaria (7.75); Italy (9:29); Cyprus (9.80); Romania (20.02) and Greece (21:44).
Data from the European Center indicate that between 2019 and 2023, The incidence lowered only in two countries: in Finland (- 66.7%) and Ireland (- 63.6%).
The ECDC indicates that since the last situation point, in 2019, there have been “various signs” that the epidemiological situation in the EU continues to deteriorate.
Among these risks the European center lists the increase in the incidence of bloodstream infections by Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemem resistant in 23 Member States due to the “continuous transmission of high-risk strains” of this bacteria, the “convergence of virulence and resistance” of these bacteria, appearance of bacteria emerging species Enterobactereles Carbapenemem carrier, dissemination caused by outbreaks in hospitals and increased isolated detection of cases of “high -risk lineages” from E.coli carbapenemem genes with risk of dissemination in the community.
Based on the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, the ECDC considers that “The probability of greater dissemination of bacteria resistant to the EU carbapenemes is high”.
The ECDC recommends to States – Members to reinforce the National Coordination of Infection Control Measures between Hospitals and, if not yet exist, the creation of a National Multidisciplinary Management Team, as well as the development of national bacterial infections control plans for controlling infections Multi -resistant.
It also advises measures to stop transmission in hospitals, as well as the definition of guidelines for the treatment of bacteria resistant to this class of antibiotics (carbapenemes), the reinforcement of genomic surveillance and the guarantee of suitable laboratory capacity for the rapid detection and characterization of these Multirresistant bacteria.
