More and more literature is documenting the rising problem of gram-negative infections that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. Few  therapeutic options exist for patients infected with these organisms, and in some cases there is simply no effective therapy available. Many of these patients die. Particularly troublesome of late is Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase (KPC), an enzyme found initially in Klebsiella pneumoniae and now in other gram negative organisms as well. KPC producing organisms are able to resist all Carbapenems, a class of very broad spectrum antibiotics that includes Imipenem, Meropenem, and Ertapenem.

Click here to read a recent article in Clinical Infectious Diseases that describes two patients in a New York hospital who were recently infected with KPC producing organisms.Click here to read an article from the New York Times that discusses the growing problem of antibiotic resistance to gram negative infections.