Latest news with #Paeruginosa
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
We found a germ that ‘feeds' on hospital plastic
Plastic pollution is one of the defining environmental challenges of our time – and some of nature's tiniest organisms may offer a surprising way out. In recent years, microbiologists have discovered bacteria capable of breaking down various types of plastic, hinting at a more sustainable path forward. These 'plastic-eating' microbes could one day help shrink the mountains of waste clogging landfills and oceans. But they are not always a perfect fix. In the wrong environment, they could cause serious problems. Plastics are widely used in hospitals in things such as sutures (especially the dissolving type), wound dressings and implants. So might the bacteria found in hospitals break down and feed on plastic? Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. To find out, we studied the genomes of known hospital pathogens (harmful bacteria) to see if they had the same plastic-degrading enzymes found in some bacteria in the environment. We were surprised to find that some hospital germs, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, might be able to break down plastic. P aeruginosa is associated with about 559,000 deaths globally each year. And many of the infections are picked up in hospitals. Patients on ventilators or with open wounds from surgery or burns are at particular risk of a P aeruginosa infection. As are those who have catheters. We decided to move forward from our computational search of bacterial databases to test the plastic-eating ability of P aeruginosa in the laboratory. We focused on one specific strain of this bacterium that had a gene for making a plastic-eating enzyme. It had been isolated from a patient with a wound infection. We discovered that not only could it break down plastic, it could use the plastic as food to grow. This ability comes from an enzyme we named Pap1. P aeruginosa is considered a high-priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. It can form tough layers called biofilms that protect it from the immune system and antibiotics, which makes it very hard to treat. Our group has previously shown that when environmental bacteria form biofilms, they can break down plastic faster. So we wondered whether having a plastic-degrading enzyme might help P aeruginosa to be a pathogen. Strikingly, it does. This enzyme made the strain more harmful and helped it build bigger biofilms. To understand how P aeruginosa was building a bigger biofilm when it was on plastic, we broke the biofilm apart. Then we analysed what the biofilm was made of and found that this pathogen was producing bigger biofilms by including the degraded plastic in this slimy shield – or 'matrix', as it is formally known. P aeruginosa was using the plastic as cement to build a stronger bacterial community. Pathogens like P aeruginosa can survive for a long time in hospitals, where plastics are everywhere. Could this persistence in hospitals be due to the pathogens' ability to eat plastics? We think this is a real possibility. Many medical treatments involve plastics, such as orthopaedic implants, catheters, dental implants and hydrogel pads for treating burns. Our study suggests that a pathogen that can degrade the plastic in these devices could become a serious issue. This can make the treatment fail or make the patient's condition worse. Thankfully, scientists are working on solutions, such as adding antimicrobial substances to medical plastics to stop germs from feeding on them. But now that we know that some germs can break down plastic, we'll need to consider that when choosing materials for future medical use. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Ronan McCarthy receives funding from the BBSRC, NC3Rs, Academy of Medical Sciences, Horizon 2020, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Innovate UK, NERC and the Medical Research Council. He is also Director of the Antimicrobial Innovations Centre at Brunel University of London. Rubén de Dios receives funding from the BBSRC and the Medical Research Council.
Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Lancet study shows drug resistance three times higher in cancer patients: What are risk factors?
Infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are the second leading cause of death in cancer patients, according to a new study published in The Lancet Oncology. Researchers analysed over 1.5 million pathogens (including over 50,000 from patients with cancer) and found that counts of different antimicrobial-resistant bacteria were between 1.2 and three times greater in outpatients with cancer. The study is significant because it is the first large multi-centre study to quantify AMR bacteria in outpatients with cancer in the US. The bacteria was isolated from adults aged 18 and older, with and without cancer, at 198 outpatient facilities. The authors have highlighted that the higher counts of AMR bacteria in outpatients with cancer may be due to the use of antibiotics they received during chemotherapy. Study co-author and Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (FIDSA) Vikas Gupta, says AMR is a growing global health crisis. 'Given the rising rates of AMR globally, more specifically in India, and the increasing drug resistance in vulnerable cancer populations, there should be careful consideration about antibiotic stewardship. This means optimising the use of antibiotics, maximising their efficacy while minimising their harm. Additionally, surveillance efforts to quantify AMR among the cancer-affected population must be undertaken because cancer incidence is projected to increase,' he says. What the study says Data was collected between April 1, 2018, and Dec 31, 2022. Across all evaluated pathogens, outpatients with cancer had significantly higher AMR rates per 1,000 pathogen isolates for P aeruginosa and Enterococcus spp compared to non-cancer outpatients. Why cancer patients are at a higher risk The results are not unexpected for Dr Abdul Ghafur, consultant in infectious diseases, Apollo Hospital, Chennai and coordinator of the Chennai Declaration on AMR (not attached with the study). 'Cancer patients are at a higher risk because they visit hospitals and healthcare facilities much more frequently than non-cancer patients — before the diagnosis, during the diagnostic process, and later for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, outpatient visits and multiple admissions. With each hospital visit, each admission, and each infection episode, the exposure to antibiotics increases. Naturally, more infections require a higher antibiotic exposure, which means a higher risk of developing drug-resistant bacterial infections,' he says. Not only a cancer patient's problem, AMR needs global strategy In cancer patients, the AMR crisis is not a 'silent pandemic' but a very visible, overt pandemic. Since patients are immune-compromised, infections have more severe consequences. 'At our cancer centre, approximately 20% of E. coli and 40–50% of Klebsiella isolates are carbapenem-resistant. Mortality is notably higher in cancer patients infected with drug-resistant bacteria compared to those infected with drug-susceptible strains. This trend holds true in both cancer and non-cancer patients,' says Dr Ghafur, arguing for a well-designed antibiotic policy at the hospital level to reduce mortality. He also argues for a detailed data collection from patients to formulate an antibiotic use policy. 'In cancer patients, antibiotic therapy must begin without delay — there is no time to wait. 'With the right data, one can make an informed choice to improve patient outcomes,' he adds.
