We living in the 21st century have a new danger. Killer bacteria that are immune to antibiotics are spreading. Among them is the microbe Klebsiella, a kind of biological “werewolf”. She can live for years in the intestines, on the skin and on the mucous membranes without any threat. Klebsiella is normally necessary to maintain a healthy intestinal flora. But as soon as a person's immunity weakens (for example, after an infectious disease or due to infection), the bacterium goes on the attack.
Since Klebsiella is not dangerous in all its forms, it is called "conditionally pathogenic." But the “peaceful” bacterium is transformed into a pathogen, causing severe inflammatory processes. And then the most serious problem that Klebsiella poses for doctors is treatment.
The mechanism of action of the antibiotic on opportunistic flora resembles a kind of vaccination. The microbe is "sick" in a mild form. But it does not die, but “recovers” - it mutates, changes its nature. It turns into a so-called strain. The “updated” bacterium is no longer afraid of a familiar medicine and can multiply with impunity in its pathogenic form.
But really useful microorganisms that live in the intestines in the vicinity of Klebsiella and are unable to develop strains die from the antibiotic. But it is they who are responsible for digestion. There is a most dangerous disease - dysbiosis. Deadly strains come to the place of dead flora due to low immunity of the body: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococci, Staphylococcus, Proteus, etc. Along with them is Klebsiella, the treatment of which does not give proper guarantees.
Today, a bacterial mutant requires increased attention in the following cases:
- Klebsiella pneumonia
- Klebsiella pneumonia in the gastrointestinal tract
- Klebsiella in newborns
Klebsiella pneumonia is extremely dangerous. It causes nonspecific (atypical) pneumonia quite rarely, but mortality from this disease is very high - from 40 to 90%.
In the gastrointestinal tract, the microbe causes acute and chronic diseases. When they say "Klebsiella", treatment is most often chosen against this variety. It also affects the mucous membrane of the eyelids, meninges, joints. If it causes sepsis, it is fatal.
Klebsiella in infants is the worst threat. Mortality among infected infants is high; treatment does not guarantee success. Possible intrauterine infection.
Klebsiella is transmitted through food (including bait in the hospital), through unwashed hands. They are infected by eating poorly processed meat, fruits, and milk.
How to treat Klebsiella? There are so-called bacteriophages - drugs that, by design, should kill her. But today they are ineffective. A more correct way of treatment is to increase immunity, and for this - take special medications consisting of a mixture of beneficial bacteria previously destroyed by an antibiotic.
In recent years, the attention of doctors to the problem of Klebsiella has been growing, although there is no consensus. Quite a large number of doctors tend to downplay the relevance and danger of the situation. But the facts are not in their favor. Over the past 5 years, for example, only in Russia and Israel, the number of people infected in hospitals and killed by Klebsiella has reached such numbers that the data began to be hushed up at the level of ministries.
Do not self-medicate under any circumstances if you suspect a werewolf microbe in a child or at home! Call the pediatrician to the baby, and go to the infectious disease specialist yourself. Analyzes reveal Klebsiella accurately.
And then everything will depend on the responsibility, competence of doctors and the will of the case. Klebsiella, whose treatment is not well developed today, will undoubtedly be defeated over time. However, it is still too early to talk about such a victory.