Superbugs on the rise in pediatric patients, US data show
News briefToday at 12:28 p.m.
An increase in superbug infections in US hospitals appears to be affecting children with complex medical needs, US researchers reported this week in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Recent surveillance studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have shown a significant increase in hospital infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), a family of bacterial pathogens that has become resistant to most antibiotics.
The increase has been driven by carbapenemase-producing (CP)-CRE that carry the carbapenemase gene New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM). But data on CRE and CP-CRE infections in pediatric patients have been limited.
To assess trends in pediatric CRE and CP-CRE incidence in US hospitals, a team led by researchers with the CDC analyzed CRE clinical isolates from patients aged 18 and under that were submitted to the CDC’s Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Network from 2019 through 2024.
“Recent increases in the incidence of NDM-producing CRE pose new challenges for managing CRE infections,” the study authors wrote. “These challenges are accentuated in pediatric populations, where approval and age-specific safety data are limited or unavailable for newer therapies that have expanded CP-CRE treatment options in adults.”
A 4-fold rise in NDM-CRE infections
Overall, researchers identified 1,845 CRE cases from 1,753 children (median age, 5 years; 58% female). One quarter of the cases were CP-CRE. Over the study period, national incidence of pediatric CRE rose 51%, while CP-CRE incidence saw a 92% increase. The increase was driven by a four-fold rise in NDM-CRE infections in children.Analysis of medical charts of 124 children with CP-CRE infections found that only 14% were in children with no healthcare risk factors. Among those with healthcare risk factors, 75% had an underlying medical condition, including cardiovascular disease, malignancies, and neurocognitive conditions. Common exposures included intensive care unit hospitalization and healthcare provided outside the United States.
“These findings indicate that CP-CRE—and particularly NDM-CRE, with its more limited treatment options—is a growing issue in U.S. pediatric healthcare settings,” the authors wrote.
Quick takes: Cholera in DR Congo, Canada OKs mRNA flu & flu-COVID vaccines, polio in 4 nations
News briefToday at 12:26 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Cholera
Influenza Vaccines
COVID-19
Polio
- Amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is also seeing its worst cholera outbreak in decades, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said this week. At a weekly media briefing, Tedros said the DRC has seen more than 60,000 cases of the highly contagious diarrheal disease this year and 1,800 deaths. Tedros said most of the cases are in the provinces of North and South Kivu, which have been affected by the Ebola outbreak and where years of conflict have created a “critical water and sanitation deficit.” Tedros also noted that cholera vaccine coverage in the area is very low.
- Vaccine maker Moderna said yesterday that Canada became the first country in the world to authorize both the company’s mRNA flu vaccine and its combination flu and COVID vaccine. Both vaccines were authorized by Health Canada for adults age 50 and older. "Influenza and COVID-19 continue to place a significant burden on public health, particularly among older adults. These milestones reflect our commitment to advancing innovative vaccine options that help protect Canadians and support more resilient health systems,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, MBA, MEng, said in a company press release.
- Afghanistan reported eight new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) this week, according the most recent update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. All of the new cases had onsets of paralysis in August and September. The country’s WPV1 total for 2026 is now 50 cases. Pakistan also reported a WPV1 case with paralysis onset in September, bringing its total this year to eight cases. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where WPV1 remains endemic. Also reporting new polio cases this week were the DRC and Ethiopia. The DRC reported nine cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), bringing its cVDPV2 total this year 93 cases. Ethiopia reported two cases of circulating vaccine-derive poliovirus type 1 and has reported 11 such cases for the year.
All News
Last edited by a moderator: