Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that antibiotic resistant bacteria could pose a catastrophic threat. CRE, or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, has become more common over the last decade due to the overuse of antibiotics with the bacteria evolving and developing the ability to fight these drugs. They pass on the ability to resist treatment to bacteria that follow, forcing new antibiotics to be developed in order to fight infections that were previously treated quite easily.
The study found that:
- About 2.5 million persons or nearly 1.5 percent of the population, carry MRSA in their nasal cavities.
- Those who reported drinking hot tea were half as likely to have MRSA nasal carriage relative to individuals who drank no hot tea.
- Those who reported consuming coffee also had about a 50 percent reduction in the risk of MRSA nasal carriage relative to those who didn’t drink the beverage.
