Deadly superbacterium has been discovered, lives on medical plastic

Scientists have discovered a dangerous hospital superbacterium feeding on medical plastic, which potentially makes it difficult to kill and is more likely to cause permanent infections in patients. This frequent superbacterium in hospitals can digest certain medical plastics, including those used in seams, stents and implants. This means that several plastic -based medical devices may be involved in the subject, as previously thought, which raises urgent questions about hospital infections and material planning.

• Scientists have discovered a dangerous superbacterium feeding on certain medical plastics.

• Demolted plastic helps the bacterium form stronger biofilms, which are difficult to handle.

• This new realization questions the immunity of plastics against microbial attacks.

A dangerous hospital superbacterium has been discovered that feeds on an unexpected thing: plastic. And not with any plastic – people used in medical implants, surgical stitches and wound binders. In a study of a breakthrough, microbiologists from Brunel University in London discovered that the pseudomonas aeruginosa a frequent and sometimes deadly hospital bacterium can « eat » with medical plastic to survive. This ability can help him survive for a longer period of time in a hospital environment – and even in patients’ organizations.

The Cell Reports A study published in the magazine is the first to show that this type of bacterium is able to break down the polykaprolactone (PCL), a biologically degradable plastic located in objects such as stents, surgical nets, drug feeding and seams. This questions the long -standing belief that medical plastics are immune to microbial attacks.

« This means we need to rethink how pathogens exist in the hospital environment » Said Professor Ronan McCarthy, head of the study. « Plastic, including plastic surfaces, can potentially serve as food for these bacteria. Pathogens with this ability can survive for a longer period of time in the hospital environment. This also means that any medical device or treatment containing plastic can be sensitive to bacterial breakdown »

Superbacterium eating medical plastics

Not only did the researchers observe the appetite of the bacterium, but also accurately determined the harmful enzyme. The enzyme called Pap1 is a Pseudomonas aeruginosa It was isolated from a trunk taken from a patient’s wound. During laboratory tests, it demolished nearly 80%of a plastic pattern in just one week. Which is even more shocking? The bacterium used plastic as a single source of energy – essentially « ate » to survive.

This plastic digestive ability also makes the bacterium more dangerous. The team has shown that decomposed plastic fragments have helped him develop stronger biofilms – protective, sticky bacterial coatings – which help bacteria to overcome antibiotics and make it difficult to treat infections, writes Scitechdaily.

The pseudomonas aeruginosa It is one of the bacteria responsible for the majority of hospital infections and is able to resist antibiotics. It is listed on the World Health Organization (WHO) on new treatments for new treatments, and one of the main causes of catheter -related urinary tract infections and pneumonia related to the ventilator – both affects plastic -based medical equipment. While the team only confirmed the degradation of PCL, signs of similar enzymes have been identified in other pathogens. This means that other plastics can be sensitive to microbial attacks-and some of the most commonly used medical substances made from polyethylene tereteepthalate or polyurethane may be at risk.

These include:

The bacterial plastic -eating ability is likely to help survive on hospital surfaces, which can potentially lead to hospital epidemics. According to McCarthy, we should start focusing on plastics that are harder for microbes and filtering the pathogens to these enzymes, especially in the inexplicable, protracted epidemics. Infection control experts might also have to rethink the way in which the hospital environment is monitored. He emphasized that this was just one study, and that further research is now needed to learn more about how widespread these enzymes are among pathogens and how they could have virulence.

« Plastic is present everywhere in modern medicine, and it turned out that some pathogens have adapted to break down. (…) We need to understand how it affects patient safety » McCarthy said.