[WATCH] Why SA’s running out of drugs to treat this superbug

Bacteria that cause infections acquired in hospitals are on the WHO’s list of germs that are becoming difficult to fight.

Among this group are the ESKAPE bacteria, a set of superbugs for which there are only a few antibiotics that work against them.

Klebsiella pneumoniae or “K” is resistant to three out of the four antibiotics hospitals in South Africa have access to.

Healthcare-associated infections occur when a person acquires an infection while they are admitted into a hospital. One of the most deadly is a bacterium that has developed resistance against three out of the four antibiotics we can use to treat it.

Read the full script here.

Dylan Bush

Dylan Bush was a health journalist at Bhekisisa from February 2016 to September 2023.

Zano Kunene

Zano Kunene is a health journalist at Bhekisisa.

[WATCH] Why SA’s running out of drugs to treat this superbug

Dylan Bush

Zano Kunene

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