Surgeons warn of hospital germs

Surgeons warn of increasing danger from hospital germs

02/23/2014

German surgeons warn of the growing dangers of hospital germs. At the Federal Congress on Surgery in Nuremberg, doctors demanded stricter laws in the fight against multidrug-resistant germs.

Patient safety as the core message
The Professional Association of German Surgeons (BDC) has warned of the growing dangers of dangerous hospital germs. At the 16th German Congress on Surgery in Nuremberg, physicians called for stricter laws to combat multi-drug resistant germs. Around one thousand surgeons will meet in the Franconian metropolis until today to the latest findings and best practices from various surgical fields. Patient safety is the core message this year.

New law is not enough
The association shared with: „The new infection protection law is not enough to become master of the problem.“ It was important not to first act in the hospital, but to start with the development of the germs. According to information, around 600,000 people in Germany are infected with these pathogens every year and around 22,000 die from it. Because children have a less fully developed immune system, they are at greatest risk. And also people with a weakened defense system, such as the elderly or the sick. „Infections caused by so-called multidrug-resistant bacteria are only treatable by a few, in the worst case no antibiotics at all“, Association Vice President Julia Seifert. However, the pathogens, usually referred to as hospital germs, seldom came from the clinics themselves, but would be dragged in there.

Various reasons for the increase in germs
There are several reasons for the increase in multidrug-resistant bacteria. One reason is the increased use of antibiotics in the animal fattening and the contamination of imported meat and fish. Even farmers and veterinarians carry on the pathogens and tourists spread the bacteria from country to country. In addition, in many countries less stringent hygiene regulations apply. A complicating factor is the lax handling of antibiotics. For example, pharmacies in Italy and Greece would issue antibiotics without prescriptions. Even Tobias Welte of the Hannover Medical School (MHH) had a few days ago, according to press reports, the situation in Greece since the economic crisis classified as particularly bad. For example, multi-day antibiotic therapies would often be started there, but would not end there. In addition, antibiotics are all too often unfounded. Both can make bacteria resistant to these agents.

Common task for state and industry
The BDC now called for the approval of new antibiotics to be simplified. If the development of new drugs for business reasons for the pharmaceutical industry is no longer worthwhile, state and industry would have to take this task together. Also the pulmonologist Welte sees new antibiotics as central to „not to lose the fight against fast-moving pathogens.“ (Ad)

Image: Sebastian Karkus