Why One Bacterial Infection Is So Deadly in Cystic Fibrosis Patients: Pathogen Interferes With Cells Whose Job Is to Fight Infection, Ohio State University Study

Scientists have found why a certain type of bacteria, harmless in healthy people, is so deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis. The bacterium, Burkholderia cenocepacia, causes a severe and persistent lung infection in patients with CF and is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. Cystic fibrosis is a chronic disorder characterized by a buildup of mucus in the lungs and other parts of the body, and various types of lung infection are responsible for about 85 percent of deaths in these patients.

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