Cases Of Infection Increase In The United States, What Is Nightmare Bacteria?

JAKARTA - The United States is currently facing an increase in cases of bacterial infection dubbed 'nightmare bacteria'. This is an infection due to bacteria that are immune to many types of antibiotics.

The increase in infection of 'nightmare bacteria' is almost 70 percent in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 'Nightmare bacteria' is a collection of bacteria with NDM genes, compounds that protect them so they are immune to antibiotics.

"These creatures are really evil," said microbiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, Michael Schmidt, Ph.D, quoted from Musk Edu, on Friday, October 3, 2025.

NDM stands for New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase. The full name is Enterobacaterals resistance carbapenem that produces NDM (NDM-CRE). These bacteria are very dangerous due to their resistance to antibiotics.

Thus the handling is very difficult. In fact, these bacteria can cause various health problems in the infected body, which can even result in death.

"They can cause everything, from pneumonia to blood flow infections, which will be known as sepsis or blood infections, injury infections, to urinary tract infections, which could end in death," he said.

In addition to challenging to treat, 'nightmare bacteria' also has a very fast potential for spread. The sharp increase in cases in the United States has raised global concerns, especially since the spread generally occurs in health facilities.

The spread of these bacteria in sick ruma usually occurs in patients who are critical or have invasive medical devices such as catheters. Then the excessive use of antibiotics in agriculture which also plays a role in increasing antibiotic resistance.

Therefore, it is very necessary to prevent and handle quickly to overcome 'nightmare bacteria'. Some of the prevention and handling measures taken are as follows.

- Identification and rapid isolation of bacteria, to prevent the spread.- Implementation of strict hand hygiene.- Use of antibiotics that match the doctor's prescription.- Early diagnosis and layered treatment strategies in health facilities.- For individuals it is important to maintain personal and environmental hygiene, do not ask for excess antibiotics and use them according to the doctor's instructions.