Not Medical Advice: ESBLs are spread via direct and indirect contact with colonized/infected patients and contaminated environmental surfaces. ESBLs are most commonly spread via unwashed hands of health care providers.
Ways that ESBL can spread include:
- Someone who is colonized or infected with ESBL touches you with unwashed hands.
- You touch objects or surfaces that have the germs.
- Health care workers touch you without washing their hands properly after contact with an infected patient, object, or surface.
ESBL can enter your body in the following ways:
- Through the mouth. This happens if you have the germs on your hands and then touch your mouth, such as when you eat. The germs are then swallowed and live in your intestine.
- Through the urinary tract. This occurs if you already have ESBL in your bowel and do not cleanse properly after a bowel movement. ESBL can also enter the urinary tract through a urinary catheter, if you have one.
- Through a wound.
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases are chemicals made by certain kinds of germs (bacteria). These germs (or ESBL for short) break down several types of antibiotics (medications that fight infection). So, when a person gets sick because of ESBL, the infection is harder to treat and may require different antibiotics. To learn more about ESBL including risk factors, symptoms, treatment, prevention and more visit uofmchildrenshospital.org.