Amid all the talk of riots, of Mr Trump and the Olympics, a deadly killer has evolved. Quietly, stealthily it has begun to take its toll. And like an army that suddenly realises it has run out of ammunition, Doctors may have nothing to check its advance.
Because a certain strain of Klebsiella bacterium, called hvKvs123 has now become resistant to carbapenems, the last type of antibiotic known to be effective against it. We can’t do better than to urge you to click on this story by the ingenious John Ely of the Mail whose explanations and graphics are of the first order.[1] But we can fillet out a few facts from it which convey the true gravity of the situation we now confront. Firstly, the new strain has been found in over 17 countries,many of them poor and overcrowded, which are ideal conditions in which it will spread. Figures from the UK suggest that its resistant capacity is rising very fast indeed, from 13.5% in 2018 to 17.4% now. While cases of resistance have leapt from 9 802 to a 11823 (to put that in perspective road deaths were only 1, 711) Finally, Klebsiella is responsible for up to 30% of cases of pneumonia. It could be an interesting winter, especially for those of us who are too poor or to hungry to heat our homes.
Is this the start of the next pandemic? Old LSS hands will know that we are always pushing the antibiotics trope here. But we are the first to admit that it’s not the only possible cause. However, two things worry us today. The near total breakdown of carbapenems and the fact there is now no substitute means that we will be fighting this pandemic always from one step behind. Secondly, that Klebsiella is such a common organism, thriving in places like the respiratory tract from which it can disperse easily. These two features alone put it will up on the starting grid for next-pandemic candidates. And one thing you can be sure of, gentle reader. That pandemic will come. Soon.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klebsiella
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