Cystic Fibrosis Support Group

The most common bacterium to infect the CF lung is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a gram-negative microorganism with a propensity to live in warm, wet environments. The lungs of most children with CF become colonized (inhabited long-term) by P. aeruginosa before their 10th birthday. The body's response to P. aeruginosa includes inflammation, which causes repeated exacerbations or episodes of intense breathing problems. Although antibiotics can decrease the frequency and duration of these attacks, the bacterium establishes a permanent residence and can never be completely eliminated from the lungs. The treatments for P. aeruginosa lung disease typically involve antibiotics, bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory drugs, and chest physiotherapy to help fight infection and clear the lung passages. While a variety of antibiotics have been used to treat this bacterium in people with CF, improvements in drug delivery systems (such as inhalation) and more effective antibiotics could potentially improve lung function further. It is the goal of the Pseudomonas Genome Project to further aid this effort by providing a detailed understanding of the genetic capacity of this organism.

dang girl, well said!

Well then... that just beats the pants off whatever I was going to say!!! I feel smarter now after reading your response :)

Well, this reply won't be nearly as informative as above, but I wanted to add just a few things. I have Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and in my memory I have been culturing it for something like 10 to 15 years. It is an annoying and opportunistic organism that takes advantage when I am stressed or weakened by a cold or something like that. However, I want to make sure to let you know that while it is a scary bug that is very hard on CF patients, it is common, and obviously, given my example you can live a long time with it culturing in your lungs. As mentioned below, inhaled antibiotics given every other month as maintenance like Colistin, Tobramycin, and the upcoming inhaled Aztreonam are quite effective at keeping this organism at bay. With this inhaled maintenance, I get IV antibiotics and possibly hospitalization necessary infections on average 1 to 2 times a year. I guess I am trying to say while Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bad thing, it is not anything uncommon or unpredictable with CF, sadly.

It was just a copy and past from a pseudomonas web site.