Bangladesh, Aug. 14 -- wo new studies by ICDDR,B have shown that difficult-to-treat drug-resistant bacteria are spreading within Bangladesh's ICUs, with more than half of ICU patients who were initially free from these drug-resistant bacteria acquiring them while receiving hospital care. The studies found alarmingly high mortality among patients who developed these infections but also showed that strengthening infection prevention and control practices can dramatically reduce severe infections and deaths.

The two studies analysed data from 373 critically ill adult patients admitted to the ICU between July 2023 and February 2024 and 363 neonates admitted in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit, for newborns) between December 2023 and Septe...