US warns over deadly, hard-to-treat bacteria

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A deadly strain of hard-to-treat bacteria is spreading in US health facilities, posing a particular risk to the nation's most vulnerable patients, authorities said in a report on Tuesday.

Health officials said the bacteria has proved stubbornly resistant to treatment with antibiotics, making some infections impossible to cure. Up to half of all patients who get blood stream infections from the bacteria die, health officials said.

The report about the lethal bacteria - carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) - was issued by Vital Signs, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"CRE are nightmare bacteria. Our strongest antibiotics don't work, and patients are left with potentially untreatable infections," said CDC Director Tom Frieden.