Swedish superbug worries doctors

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A rapidly spreading bacterium that is resistant to common antibiotics is worrying doctors in Sweden.

The Extended Spectrum Betalaktamases bacterium is found in the intestine, and 1,453 cases have been reported in Sweden since Feb.1, The Local reported Sunday.

Doctors are primarily concerned about the disease's ability to cause urinary tract infections that are difficult to treat in the 64 percent of cases that are in women. But the bacterium has also been connected to 50 cases of blood poisoning and one case of meningitis, the newspaper said.

Given the rate at which the disease is spreading, it may become as big a threat as MRSA, a more common antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection, doctors said.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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