A Study in a Regional Hospital of a Mid-Sized Spanish City Indicates a Major Increase in Infection/Colonization by Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria, Coinciding with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has proven difficult to control over the past few decades. The large group of multidrug-resistant bacteria includes carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPB), for which limited therapeutic options and infection control measures are available. Furthermore, carbapenemases associate with high-risk clones that are defined by the sequence type (ST) to which each bacterium belongs.