Question: How often do superbugs effect kids and do you get any signs of getting these bugs?

Eleanor Turpin answered on 22 Jun 2012:

Superbugs can affect anyone of any age. However, superbug infections only really cause problems for people who are already unwell – for example older people can catch c.diff infections in care homes or someone might develop an MRSA infection in hospital after surgery.

Humans come into contact with these germs all the time but when we are healthy our bodies can easily fight the infection off. The first antibiotic was only invented about 70 years ago so for the first 200,000 years of human existance our immune systems got on with the job on their own.

So most of the time their are no signs of infection or they just seem like a normal cold. But don’t worry if you are being treated in hospital (or someone you know is) as a lot of work has been done in the last few years to prevent the spread of these bugs and doctors keep a close eye on their patients to quickly spot any signs of infection. Even if you do develop a superbug infection there is an antibiotic called vancomycin that can treat MRSA; however doctors only perscribe it when all other treatments have not worked.