+34
Monash University scientists discovered a new antibiotic resistance gene in the spore form of Clostridioides difficile, which can survive hospital disinfectants and bleach, prompting calls to rethink hospital cleaning strategies.
Scientists at Monash University have uncovered a new form of antibiotic resistance in Clostridioides difficile, a hospital-haunting bug that causes deadly diarrhea. The discovery reveals an antibiotic resistance gene arising in the spore form of bacteria, not the normal form, for the first time.
The findings were published in Nature Communications. C. difficile commonly causes severe gut infections in hospitals. It exists in two forms: a vegetative form that infects people's colons and a spore form that is extremely hard to kill. Spores can survive hospital-grade disinfectants and hot laundry temperatures, and can persist for as long as two years in hospitals.
Professor Dena Lyras leads research
Professor Dena Lyras, director of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, led the research. She said bacteria are evolving in ways that scientists are not anticipating. This is creating another level of superbug, she said. The research began with an unexpected observation.
The lab-raised bacterium grew fine but could not make spores, which in this species is key to reproduction and infection. The researchers were stumped. They investigated the batch and discovered the liquid medium they were growing the bacteria in contained a type of substance called a cephamycin. They found that a group of antibiotics actually stopped sporulation in its tracks.
Lyras called the finding fantastic. However, the bacteria soon fired back. In about 10 percent of the strains examined, this sporulation-blocking strategy did not work. The researchers discovered a subset of strains that have a new resistance gene.
New resistance gene found in spores
In these resistant bacteria, the new gene codes for a protein that can continue making spores even when hit by antibiotics. Spores are the survival version of the cell, Lyras said. They have their DNA packed in the middle and layers of material around them like an armoured truck, tightly packed without much water. So it is just really tough.
Lyras described the toughness of spores in vivid terms. She said they require half an hour of contact with bleach to kill them, and that irradiating them for 200 hours still does not kill 100 percent of them. Because they are already Terminator-tough, spores taking on a drug-resistant gene create the ultimate superbug, like a seed that can lie dormant in soil for years before sprouting, she said. The discovery has significant implications for hospital infection control.
Lyras asked whether strategies for cleaning hospitals, beds, surfaces, sheets, toilets and sinks need to be rethought. Antimicrobial resistance is a critical global health crisis. Drug-resistant infections already kill more than 1.2 million people each year. The CSIRO has predicted that by 2050, deaths from infections that were previously treatable with antibiotics will exceed 10 million.
Antimicrobial resistance causes global decline
Antimicrobial resistance will result in up to 7.5 percent global decrease in livestock production and a decline in global GDP of between 3.8 and 5 percent. Global real exports will shrink by 1.1 percent. The battle against superbugs has a long history. In 1928, Alexander Fleming left a petri dish unsealed and later found it overgrown with a green fuzz that had partly killed his culture.
He had discovered penicillin. That was the opening salvo in an evolutionary battle between medical researchers and pathogenic microbes that have rapidly evolved to outfox antibiotics. Scientists are exploring various approaches to address the crisis. Some researchers, including microbiologist Dr Kenya Fernandes, have turned to natural solutions like honey.
Another promising approach is engineering viruses called bacteriophages to attack and kill superbugs. Other strategies have shown success. A recently published 10-year study estimated that the installation of copper-infused resin on counter tops, sinks, tray tables and bedside rails in a Texan hospital had prevented 78 infections.
Antibiotic research remains underfunded
However, much of the blue-sky research that uncovers new antibiotic molecules is underfunded. Converting one of these compounds into a useful drug is enormously expensive and time-intensive. There is also little incentive for big pharmaceutical companies to bring new antibiotics to market. Antibiotics might be used just once, and the mantra is to not overuse them lest you contribute to the antibiotic resistance problem.
New drugs are also often quickly out-evolved. Professor Mark Blaskovich has commented on the challenges. Experts have urged the government to set up a Netflix style agreement that would see regulator payments pour into pharmaceutical companies, like a subscription, in return for access to a stream of new antibiotics. There are also concerns about the research sector.
In four years, according to one estimate, 10 out of Victoria's 14 independent research institutes will have to close. Much of the pioneering work to tackle antimicrobial resistance occurs at these kinds of agile, independent research centres. Recently, 75 jobs were slashed at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research. This crisis kills 100 Australians a week, and a solution might be in your pantry.
brisbanetimes
theage:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Clostridioides Difficile Superbug Monash University Antimicrobial Resistance
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Brisbane woman's body found in bin deemed non-suspicious by policePolice have determined the death of a woman whose body was discovered in a waste bin at an inner-Brisbane unit complex is not suspicious, though homicide investigators remain on scene as the investigation continues.
Read more »
Foul play suspected after two bodies found on same property two weeks apartPolice have arrested a man after two bodies were found at the same property in northern NSW two weeks apart.
Read more »
New Superbug Defies Antibiotics by Evolving Unknown Resistance MechanismMonash University researchers have identified a new resistance gene in C. difficile that allows the bacterium to evade spore-blocking antibiotics, marking a significant escalation in the evolutionary battle against hospital-acquired infections.
Read more »