Hospital-Bred Bacteria Kills Brits

An untreatable strand of hospital-bred bacteria is killing hundreds of patients each year in the UK, the Observer reports. Pseudomona cases have risen 41% over the past five years, reaching 3,663 in 2006. Like MRSA, the bug is resistant to traditional cleaning agents and antibiotics, and contaminates patients through hospital water present in IVs, breathing devices, and catheters.

Pseudomona generally affects those already in critical condition, such as HIV or intensive care patients. One child cancer patient died from the bacteria after his lips were moistened with contaminated holy water. Now, some are suing the hospitals. "I would call it a near-death experience," said one man who allegedly caught the bug from an unclean thermometer. (More hospitals stories.)