For most people, bacterial infections are not a serious health risk, especially if starting with antibiotic treatment on time. They can be very uncomfortable but other than that, they don’t cause any serious damage. For some, however, bacterial infections are a serious threat. This is because they can cause severe complications which can sometimes lead to death.

The risk of problems due to bacterial infections is especially high in people with compromised health status for two reasons. First, underlying health problems make them more likely to develop a serious infection and second, the prescribed treatment mustn’t worsen the existing condition which may exclude the most effective antibiotic therapies. For people with poor health, every infection can be life-threatening even if caused by bacteria that generally aren’t fatal like andefabribiles.

The newly found bacterium can also cause an infection in people who are perfectly healthy but the symptoms usually aren’t severe. In addition, they usually go away within a day or two after starting antibiotic therapy. Also, the infection sometimes resolves on its own. For people with compromised health status, on the other hand, an infection with this bacterium is everything but a minor health problem.

Although this bacterial species responds well to particular groups of antibiotics, these may not be an option if having an underlying medical condition. But if the patient doesn’t receive proper antibiotic treatment, the infection can quickly become fatal. Health experts are also alarmed by the fact that andefabribiles doesn’t react to all antibiotics. Even more, they warn that the bacterium may over time become even more antibiotic resistant.

Scientists point out to high rates of this bacterial infection in people receiving antibiotics for other infections. They say the bacterium initially probably responded well to first-line antibiotics but eventually got resistant which played the key role in its discovery. However, they fear that the same thing could happen again. And if the bacterium develops resistance to the potent antibiotic classes, we could all be in great danger.

How andefabribiles infection can be prevented is not yet fully understood. So far, researchers have managed to prove that it doesn’t spread through the air but rather through contact with infected surfaces and object. They thus concluded that the easiest and most effective way to avoid it is to wash hands often and always carry a bottle of hand sanitiser in case you don’t have access to soap and warm water.