There's a new risk for anyone who has to go to the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there's been an alarming rise in "superbugs", deadly bacteria that are resistant to just about any antibiotic.
So far, the CDC says superbugs have not made it to the world outside hospitals and nursing homes, but about 200 medical facilities in 42 states have reported at least one case.
The bacteria is known as CRE, or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
It can easily spread from person to person through physical contact and patients who get it are very difficult to treat.
"If they're very ill, it can kill them. There's about a 50 percent mortality for people who have serious infections," said Winona McLamb, the registered nurse in charge of infection control for Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.
At GSRMC, patients identified as having a resistant bacteria get a "contact precaution" sign posted on their room.
It means everyone - nurses, orderlies and even visitors - must wash their hands and put on gowns and gloves before entering the room.
McLamb stresses that patients have a role to play as well.
"Pay attention. You need to expect that your health care providers are going to wash their hands before they come into your room and after they leave your room. You need to watch for this and if you don't see it, speak up," she said.
The superbugs can cause things like pneumonia and blood stream infections.
McLamb says their rise is due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. She says in the past, doctors would hand out antibiotics for many ailments, including the common cold, because it was easy and what patients expected.
"Now doctors are much more cognizant of the fact that they should not be prescribing antibiotics in this way so they police themselves."
But McLamb says patients can police themselves, too. For one thing, they shouldn't share leftover antibiotics with anyone else.
"When you are prescribed antibiotics, take them completely, finish your schedule, so that you don't become resistant."
So far, McLamb says the hospital has not had a problem with these superbugs, but they expect to see it eventually, because it is spreading quickly.
