Infection control specialist, Cairn Care, has launched a fact sheet on carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) to help care homes to control its transmission.
Although Enterobacteriaceae is a type of bacteria that usually lives harmlessly in the gut, it can cause infection if it moves somewhere else, such as the bloodstream or the bladder.
If some of these bacteria then make enzymes called carbapenemase, they become resistant to a group of powerful antibiotics called carbapenems. These carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae or CPE can then cause infections that cannot be effectively treated by carbapenem antibiotics.
As doctors typically use carbapenem antibiotics to treat infections when other antibiotics have proved ineffective, this obviously leaves a CPE-infected person in a very vulnerable, if not life threatening situation.
To help prevent CPE being transmitted from person to person in care homes, Cairn Care has put together a free fact sheet, which includes important tips to help you prevent a CPE outbreak and advice on what to do if you have an outbreak in your care home.
Dr. Peter Binns, managing director of Cairn Care says: “With Public Health England saying that the number of lab-confirmed cases of CPE rose from three to nearly 2000 in the 12 years to 2015, its spread is clearly a growing concern.
“This is particularly the case in care homes, as the elderly are more likely to have been an inpatient at a hospital, where there is a greater likelihood of contracting CPE. What’s more, CPE is likely to be more dangerous to people who are immunocompromised, which is more likely to be the case within the care home resident demographic.”
To request your free CPE fact sheet ‘Tackling CPE in your care home’ email info@cairncare.co.uk
