The  term "CRE" was barely a blip on most hospitals' radar before the CDC  highlighted the emerging infection, carbapenem-resistant  enterobacteriaceae.  Of 3,918 acute care facilities performing surveillance for CRE, only 145 short-stay and 36 long-term hospitals had reported cases as of last June. But though the bug has been uncommon in hospital settings so far, four factors make it extremely worrisome, CDC experts say:
•1.  It kills half of patients whose bloodstreams become infected.
•2.  It is resistant to nearly all antibiotics.
•3   It is increasingly seen in acute care settings.
•4.  It spreads quickly within and across healthcare settings through central line associated bloodstream or catheter associated urinary tract infections.
CRE was found in 1.2% hospitals in the country in 2001, but in 2011 and the first six months of 2012, it was in 4.6% of acute care hospitals. It is now in 18% of long-term care hospitals, and has been detected in hospitals in 42 states.
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/QUA-291756/Deadly-CRE-Infection-Spreading-Fast-in-Hospitals.html## 

•Numerous healthcare industry associations, including the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), Association of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), have issued guidelines and recommendations on when and how to use IUSS (see sidebar below), but in reality, facilities often use this sterilization method outside these parameters to compensate for limited time, money and staff resources.•Most facilities are using IUSS for turnover, whether it’s turnover of their own sets, one-of-a-kind instruments where they don’t have enough, or loaner/vendor trays. The current ‘word on the street’ is that IUSS is now seen in a negative light. In the past, it was just something one HAD to do to compensate for the lack of inventory. Today it is seen as a failure to uphold the standard of care for all patients. This practice, if improperly used, is now thought to be an associated risk factor for surgical site infections, the reporting of which can have a negative effect on a healthcare facility.
•http://www.hpnonline.com/inside/2013-09/CS-ImmUse.html