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posted by martyb on Sunday August 05 2018, @02:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the life-will-find-a-way dept.

Bacteria are becoming resistant to alcohol-based disinfectants:

Because of the growing numbers of so-called superbugs, hospitals have introduced more stringent cleaning routines. Part of the regimen involves alcohol-based disinfectants, such as hand rubs, positioned in and around hospital wards. Since their introduction, there has been a significant reduction in the number of hospital-based infections. Containing 70 percent isopropyl or ethyl alcohol, alcohol-based hand rubs kill bacteria quickly and effectively.

Over recent years, researchers have noted a steady rise in the number of serious infections caused by one particular drug-resistant bacterium — Enterococcus faecium. Despite the wide use of alcohol-based disinfectants, E. faecium is now a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Dr. Sacha Pidot and his colleagues at the University of Melbourne in Australia set out to understand whether this increased infection rate might be because the bacterium is growing resistant to alcohol. Their findings were published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine [DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aar6115] [DX].

Also at Live Science.

Increasing tolerance of hospital Enterococcus faecium to handwash alcohols:

Alcohol-based disinfectants and particularly hand rubs are a key way to control hospital infections worldwide. Such disinfectants restrict transmission of pathogens, such as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium. Despite this success, health care infections caused by E. faecium are increasing. We tested alcohol tolerance of 139 hospital isolates of E. faecium obtained between 1997 and 2015 and found that E. faecium isolates after 2010 were 10-fold more tolerant to killing by alcohol than were older isolates. Using a mouse gut colonization model of E. faecium transmission, we showed that alcohol-tolerant E. faecium resisted standard 70% isopropanol surface disinfection, resulting in greater mouse gut colonization compared to alcohol-sensitive E. faecium. We next looked for bacterial genomic signatures of adaptation. Alcohol-tolerant E. faecium accumulated mutations in genes involved in carbohydrate uptake and metabolism. Mutagenesis confirmed the roles of these genes in the tolerance of E. faecium to isopropanol. These findings suggest that bacterial adaptation is complicating infection control recommendations, necessitating additional procedures to prevent E. faecium from spreading in hospital settings.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by RandomFactor on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:14AM (4 children)

    by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:14AM (#717415) Journal

    other disinfectants, perhaps chlorine-based ones

    hmmmm. Chlorine based disinfectants are used for cleaners all the time, but not hand sanitizers afaik.

    I would assume there is some reason for this (smell? irritation?)

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:24AM (1 child)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:24AM (#717418) Homepage

    You need X-TRA strength for nigger and Gook hands.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:52AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:52AM (#717426)

      Why you capitalize gook, but not nigger? WTF? Do you have a special relationship with gooks? Are you gook gay? You hang around with Beavus and Butthead, and you're the guy muttering, "Gotta get me some of that good gook dick!" So, the peter is always sweeter when it's colored yellow? Inquiring minds want to know. You can come out of the closet now, EF!

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by rts008 on Sunday August 05 2018, @02:13PM (1 child)

    by rts008 (3001) on Sunday August 05 2018, @02:13PM (#717512)

    Chlorine is highly corrosive to tissue, as well as being reactive to many things commonly found around people.

    A 10%(by volume) solution of 'household chlorine bleach' is considered to be an effective sterilizing agent...kills everything(including healthy cells). (and causes irritation/'burning' for many people)

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by beckett on Sunday August 05 2018, @08:09PM

      by beckett (1115) on Sunday August 05 2018, @08:09PM (#717587)

      Some bacteria form endospores with multiple layers to protect its DNA and allow it to survive tough times and harsh conditions (i.e. a 10 minute disinfection procedure). the genus Clostridium is a common culprit in hospital acquired infections, and is known to form endospores which survive bleach.

      e.g. C. difficile is a common hospital pathogen that causes diarrhea and GI problems and worse in compromised patients. its endospore has 6 layers protecting its DNA in a 'spore core'. the outer 'coat' is composed of hydrophobic proteins which prevent perfusion of aqueous hypochlorite (bleach). the hydrophobic proteins are crosslinked which prevent large molecules from entering, which is how the endospore avoids bulky enzymes in our saliva, mucus membranes, and enables it to survive stomach acids and lysozyme attack. Endospore robustness is one of the reasons consumables are routinely gamma irradiated.

      Outside our bodies, Clostridium spp. endospores hav been shown to survive cooking, 'food-safe' temperatures, in addition to most sanitzation techniques, and can survive boiling and autoclave runs. Bacterial endospores are also not the only bleach-resistant by a long shot; cysts of giardia and cyptosporidium oocyst are also resistant to chlorine treatments. Dissolved ozone is recommended treatment to inactivate parasitic cysts, and is also effective in removing gram+ staphylococcus, and gram- E. coli, pseudomonas spp., Legionella spp., as well as viruses.