Researchers from the Translation Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., suspect that when patients ingest food containing the bacteria and are then hospitalized, the use of antibiotics and other drugs that cause diarrhea may be inadvertently releasing the pathogen. Microscopic particles containing the bacteria may be contaminating the air and hard surfaces in a patients’ room, coming into contact with healthcare workers or equipment before being transferred back to the patient, triggering an infection.
An analysis of meat products purchased at grocers near the hospital where patients were tested for the bacterium revealed that 10 percent of the patients and 47 percent of the meat carried Klebsiella. Twenty-two percent of the bacterium was also antibiotic resistant.
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