Superbugs common in Irish hospitals

CARDIFF, Wales, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Superbugs -- bacteria resistant to antibiotics -- have become common in Irish hospitals, nursing homes and the community, a study found.

A study of more than 700 samples from 22 Irish hospitals during the last 10 years found 61 percent tested positive for bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

Dr. Dearbhaile Morris of Ireland's National University of Ireland Galway said the bacteria can produce an enzyme that destroys a whole family of common antibiotics, including penicillins and cephalosporins.

"The ability to make these enzymes spreads very easily between different types of bacteria," Morris said in a statement. "It lets them break down many different penicillins and cephalosporins. So the genetic ability to resist very important antibiotics often spreads with the ability to make these enzymes and doctors increasingly have to use antibiotics which in the past were held back for exceptional cases."

The findings were presented at the Federation of Infection Societies Conference at the University of Cardiff, Wales.