Regional briefs 12/15/15

'Phantom menace' bug not a threat in state

DEXTER, Mo. -- Despite alarming stories from media outlets, the carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae supergerm called "phantom menace" is not an imminent threat -- at least not to anyone outside of a medical facility. Amy Hector, public health program director for the Stoddard County Health Center, said CRE infections almost always are limited to health-care facilities. "Very rarely does anyone get CRE outside of a hospital, nursing home or some other medical facility," Hector said. "It's not like an airborne virus or something. It usually gets contracted when someone is being treated with some medically invasive equipment." CRE typically develops in situations in which a patient has a respirator, catheter or any other invasive medical apparatus. "The 'E' in CRE stands for enterobacteriaceae," she said. "That bacteria is actually quite common. It's only when it gets outside the body that it becomes a threat." A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week concerns a strain of CRE that carries a plasmid capable of breaking down antibiotics. This strain of CRE, unofficially dubbed "phantom menace," is more antibiotic-resistant than other strains. Hector said in most cases, a patient who contracts CRE has a compromised immune system. Healthy patients tend to get over the infection quickly, she said.

Suspect to face trial for assault

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Butler County judge Friday ordered a Poplar Bluff man to stand trial for his role in the alleged assault of another man whose family reported him missing last summer. Eldrid Leon Smith appeared Thursday afternoon before Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth for a preliminary hearing in his case. Smith, 24, of the 2400 block of Highway B, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Smith is accused of taking Edward Goodwin to a place where others beat him with metal objects. During the hearing, Bloodworth heard testimony from two witnesses and took the case under advisement so he could watch a 45-minute, video-recorded statement by Smith. According to online court records, Bloodworth found probable cause a felony had been committed. Bloodworth ordered Smith to appear at 9 a.m. Dec. 29 before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett for arraignment.

-- From staff reports