Antidepressant medication linked with increased risk of superbug infection
Certain types of antidepressants may put people at an increased risk for developing a deadly superbug infection, a new study suggested.
Researchers from the University of Michigan revealed that individuals who suffer from depression and those taking antidepressants such as mirtazapine and fluoxetine had a much higher chance of contracting Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) – a life threatening infection that can cause severe diarrhea and inflammation of the colon.
One of the most common infections acquired by patients at hospitals, C. difficile has been occurring with more and more frequency, resulting in the deaths of 14,000 individuals in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention.
The rise of CDIs is often attributed to the overuse of antibiotics in health care facilities. While these medications destroy harmful bacteria responsible for illness, they also destroy protective bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract – leaving individuals vulnerable to C. difficile bacteria lurking on foods, surfaces and objects contaminated by infected feces.
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