Every 8. Patient multi-drug resistant ESBL bacteria in the clinic

According to health experts, to die in Germany each year up to 15,000 people to hospital infections. Some estimates even go up to 30,000 dead. Scientists have now been able to show that many patients bring the instruction in the clinic was already high in resistant bacteria.

Dangerous Hospital Infections

Already for years, is advised by health experts to the fact that in German hospitals-a better protection against infection is needed to prevent hospital-acquired infections better. Problematic, however, is apparently not only that, in many institutions, important hygiene rules are not complied with. Because a new study has shown that many newly trained patients of multi-drug resistant bring duck germs in the clinic.

Newly trained patients to bring ESBL bacteria

Scientists at the infecto Gnostics research campus in Jena were now able to demonstrate in an observational study, that one in every eight new in a clinic instructed Patient already carries a so-called ESBL bacteria.

As it is said in a communication, remained infections with the own ESBL pathogens in the study is an exceptional case, however, the researchers showed that the pathogen could pass on their resistance genes to other bacterial strains in the clinic.

In the clinical study were infecto Gnostics-scientists at the University hospital of Jena, the industry partner Abbott, and the Leibniz Institute for photonic technologies involved. The results were published in the journal “PLOS One”.

Resistant to many antibiotics

“ESBL-producing bacteria („Extended Beta-Lactamase“ or „Beta-lactamase with extended Spektrum“) can columns with a enzyme of the beta-lactamase-rings in a major drug group of antibiotics and ineffective,“ explained the technician health insurance on your website.

“Most of these enzymes occur in typical enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp”, so the TK.

According to the experts, multi-resistant intestinal bacteria are often transmitted via the hands, which is why a consistent hand hygiene can save lives.

In the case of immune is weak, the germs can lead to infection

As the University hospital of Jena, writes in a communication, ESBL-producing bacteria, such as a life insurance: Is the bacterium even in the situation to make such an enzyme, it can put itself successfully against numerous antibiotics to the military, in hospitals, and also to the family doctor.

The result is that Doctors must have access since a couple of years, more and more often to Reserve antibiotics to get infections at all in the handle. This cycle leads to the fact that many antibiotics are already ineffective.

ESBL-forming bacteria are not spread mainly in hospitals, but to colonize, especially on the food intake of the healthy intestine.

The colonization itself is not dangerous, as long as the Affected are healthy. In the case of serious operations, or immune weakness, the germs can lead to infections.

In the current study was investigated the colonization rate in patients who are re-to the hospital meadows, and evaluated whether they are rising through the stay in the hospital.

In addition, the researchers analyzed what factors the colonization of the pathogens and conditions.

Only one Patient was infected with the pathogen

For the study, 1.334 patients for ESBL were tested-forming Intestinal bacteria: first of all, when recording in the clinic, then after the completion of the treatment and – if possible – also again six months after the hospital stay.

The results showed how far ESBL-common-image are bacteria that are already present in the population: each eighth of the tested patients (12.7%) could be detected at the time of admission to the hospital an ESBL-germ.

Even more dramatic is the Situation of homes, however, in the case of patients from care of the elderly: Almost one Patient in four (23.8 per cent) has already multi-resistant germs.

Despite the high colonization rate with ESBL-producing pathogens in the actual infections with the ‘own’ ESBL-nucleation occurred during the hospital stay is extremely rare: In the study a single Patient with the pathogen infected only.

There is no reason to sound the all-clear

The low number of infections in the clinic, however, is no reason for complacency, as Dr. Olivia Makarewicz from the Institute for infection medicine and hospital hygiene of the University hospital of Jena, explains:

“On the one hand, the number of actual infections in departments such as Oncology, geriatrics, or intensive care unit is much higher, since there is mainly risk patients are treated with a weakened immune system,” says the scientist.

“On the other hand, we were able to show in our analysis, once again, that the genetic information for multi-drug resistance via plasmids to other bacteria species in the intestine are transferred to new multi-resistant pathogens can arise very quickly,” explains Dr. Makarewicz.

“You have to assume that such a colonization of germs can pass on the resistance of Hospital pathogens. The role of these small strands of DNA in the transmission of resistance is observed in clinical practice, yet much too little.“ (ad)