- Recently, some US residents returning from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, were diagnosed with infections caused by an antibiotic-resistant form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
- All of the travelers with this particular infection had an invasive medical procedure performed in Tijuana. Most (but not all) of them had weight-loss surgery. About half of those infected had their surgery done at the Grand View Hospital.
- Based on information provided by the CDC, the Mexican government has closed the Grand View Hospital until further notice.
- CDC recommends that travelers to Tijuana, Mexico, not have surgery at the Grand View Hospital until the Mexican government can confirm that the drug-resistant form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria is no longer there.
For the cognoscenti, this P. aeruginosa isolate is carbapenem resistant and contains a VIM carbapenemase, and it is resistant to most antibiotics.
As I’ve discussed multiple times, the solution to the economic flaws of the U.S. medical system should not be medical tourism. If Mexico were the only place to get a certain treatment, that would be different, but facilitating the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria simply because we can’t get our shit together (so to speak) on the policy front is extremely short-sighted. And the bacteria, like Honey Badger of yore, don’t give a shit.
Best healthcare system in the world.
mikethemadbiologist
Do you think Rand Paul will come back from Canada with some untreatable bacteria? Not saying I hope he does, necessarily, but it would certainly be karma or at least Schadenfreude
yes, I don’t understand who is traveling to Mexico or India for the surgery.
We in Prague, provide the orthopedics surgeries with much higher hygienic standards and for 30% of the Price then in the US. Medical Tourismus is a Bad Solution if you choose primary the wrong Country.
You can check this: http://www.international-patients.com/en