"Bugs, superbugs, MRSA and KPC have cropped up in germ-infested health clubs, gyms and even dirty hospitals," says Dr. Brad Spellberg, infectious disease specialist, scientist, author and researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Harbor/UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. "Our industry is not developing any new antibiotics to combat this medical urgency."
Spellberg, a recognized expert on the topic of antibiotic-resistant germs, and other physicians expressed alarm at the lack of antibiotics currently in development while testifying this past June during a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee special hearing. Spellberg and other physicians who testified raised concern for the spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes, including out of the hospital and into the community -- with lethal results.Â
"Everyone is at risk of these infections," warns Spellberg, who spoke on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Spellberg is also a member of the advisory board of Zimek Technologies, a worldwide leader in infection control and biohazard remediation which has been developing and marketing its patented automatic Micro-Mist® decontamination technologies for more than five years.
Zimek's industry-leading technologies are used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Fire and EMS departments, healthcare facilities, public health agencies, transit systems, correctional facilities, and local law enforcement agencies across America. Zimek's special products "micronize" disinfectants that can quickly and automatically decontaminate facilities, equipment and vehicles. Zimek's germ-killing, revolutionary "micro-mist" can permeate crevasses and hidden surfaces where super-germs are untouched by standard sanitizing methods.
Antibiotic-resistant infections "are extremely difficult to treat and frequently recur," Spellberg says. "These infections result in tremendous pain, suffering and disfigurement in adults, children and infants, and have caused millions of deaths worldwide."
Spellberg will discuss these concerns in a special investigative news story on the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" scheduled for broadcast on Sept. 27 and 28; visit www.zimek.com for exact airdate/time.
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