CDC issues public health alert as ‘superbug’ spreads across country

DAYTON — A superbug is what doctors said the CDC has issued a serious public health alert about.

The Center for Disease Control said the stomach bug infects millions of Americans each year and it can spread easily to anyone of us in the Miami Valley. Now there is a bacteria in the virus that is not responding to medication.

Doctors are used to antibiotics working to treat norovirus, also known as the stomach bug. However, for some people medicine is not helping right now.

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The bacteria, which is considered to be a superbug, can live in your gut even if you take antibiotics.

On Friday, the CDC released a health advisory to alert the public that the virus is out there.

Dr. Joseph Allen said this has to do with a continuous cycle of adaptation. “So, we develop something that does really well, a few of them survive it. They just figure out how to survive it,” he said.

Which the superbug is doing a good job of with people in the country.

“It kind of flourishes, and then it produces a toxin that causes some, some disruption with the way that the body absorbs nutrients,” Allen said.

It can create a list of side effects like loose stool, malaise, fatigue, fever and bloody stool. In rare cases, it can lead to death.

“Your older population and your immunocompromised and maybe even your really, really young population,” Allen said.

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To prevent that from happening, antibiotics would be used, but since they aren’t working it leaves Allen asking ‘What do we do?’

“Doctors are used to antibiotics working for bacterial causes of GI symptoms, however there are also viral stomach bugs, like Norovirus, that do not respond to antibiotics,” Allen said.

At this point, its supportive treatment such as getting IV fluids and staying hydrated are the ways to help, but he said prevention is your best bet.

“Wash your hands very well, you know. Avoid those places where maybe you don’t have the most sanitary conditions. Certainly, avoid those if you have any of those symptoms as well,” he said.

Allen said he has yet to see these bacteria pop up but it’s only a matter of time. News Center 7 reached out to a couple of public health departments and Miami County responded by saying they have no current cases of this superbug.

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