HR0221 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0221 LRB098 11634 GRL 44077 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, A family of drug-resistant bacteria, that experts say kills up to 50% of people infected, is spreading in Chicago and elsewhere, prompting doctors and public health officials to step up efforts to protect patients; and

WHEREAS, Infections caused by these germs - called carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, or CRE - are still rare, but are difficult and sometimes impossible to treat; no one knows the exact number of CRE infections or deaths in Illinois or nationwide, though the federal Centers for Disease Control and prevention is working on a report that would compile those statistics for the first time; and

WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control says an increasing percentage of germs in the entero-bacteriaceae family are becoming resistant to the carbapenems antibiotics used as a last-resort treatment for seriously-ill people; and

WHEREAS, A decade ago, 1% of these bacteria were resistant; now 4% are resistant, while one type has increased from 2% to 10%; in all, more than 70 kinds of bacteria have developed carbapenem resistance; and

WHEREAS, CRE are spread by unclean hands, but medical devices, such as ventilators or catheters, increase the risk of life-threatening infection, because they can introduce new bacteria into the blood stream; and

WHEREAS, CRE have high mortality rates and kill up to half of the people who get serious infections with them; CRE can also spread their resistance to other bacteria; and

WHEREAS, Information about the number of CRE infections is scarce, in part because only 6 states require health facilities to report cases; the Centers for Disease Control has tracked CRE from a single health care facility in 2001 to health care facilities in at least 42 states; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we state our intent to raise public awareness about the antibiotic-resistant CRE germ that is becoming a growing threat to health facilities in the State of Illinois and urge the citizens of this State to become informed about this emerging risk; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge health facilities across the State to promote proper hand washing by health care workers, remove medical devices such as catheters as soon as possible, isolate patients who are infected or carry the bacteria, and make sure that health workers are using protective gloves and gowns when touching patients with CRE; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we further urge health facilities to employ a "detect and protect" strategy, which involves identifying the presence of the organism and protecting other patients to prevent its spread.