CRE in the U.S.A.

First identified in 2001 in North Carolina, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have now been found in most U.S. states. To better understand the risk factors and clinical and microbiological characteristics of these multidrug-resistant bacteria, CDC investigators initiated population-based surveillance for CRE in metropolitan areas in three states in January 2012; the following year, they expanded the program to include sites in four additional states.

In 2012 and 2013, 599 incident CRE cases (defined as those involving Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter aerogenes, or Enterobacter cloacae complex that were nonsusceptible to carbapenems other than ertapenem and resistant to extended-spectrum c…