Resistant super-bacteria make alcoholic disinfectants increasingly ineffective

Hand sanitizers with alcohol are becoming increasingly ineffective

Especially in hospitals disinfectants are used with alcohol to prevent a dangerous spread of germs and bacteria. However, these disinfectants seem to be increasingly ineffective against so-called super-exciters.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have found in their current research that alcohol disinfectant is less effective against certain pathogens in hospitals. These disinfectants were actually said to prevent thousands of deaths from MRSA bacteria. The physicians published the results of their study in the English language journal "Science Translational Medicine".

Cleansing gels with alcohol seem to be increasingly ineffective in hospitals to curb the spread of germs and bacteria. (Image: bmf-foto.de/fotolia.com)

Alcohol disinfectants are important for controlling infections

The evidence has accumulated that bacteria are already resistant to disinfectants for hands with alcohol, say the experts. Such disinfectants are essential in hospitals for the control of infections. The researchers made this worrying finding when they investigated why some types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Australian hospitals have become a growing threat despite the widespread use of hand sanitizers.

Investigation focused on enterococci

The physicians focused on a group of intestinal bacteria known as enterococci. These intestinal bacteria are a growing problem around the world because they are even increasingly resistant to treatment with the latest antibiotics, such as the drug vancomycin. Researching bacteria samples from Australian hospitals over a 19-year period, the researchers found that the bacteria now live much better in sterile environments and can cause infections. If this trend continues, hospitals could no longer rely on these measures to prevent outbreaks from infecting patients, the authors warned.

Alcohol-based disinfectants have reduced death rates due to MRSA

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have been a staple in hospitals around the world since the mid-2000s. An international hand washing initiative helped reduce the number of common super-pathogens (MRSA) that caused thousands of deaths each year. All over the country, MRSA rates fell, benefiting patients and reducing the risk of serious infections, says study author Professor Paul Johnson of the University of Melbourne.

Enterococci are the fifth largest cause of sepsis in Europe

The physicians also noted a gradual increase in infections with vancomycin-resistant enterococci, which seemed a paradox, as both infections should be controlled by normal hand hygiene. Enterococci are already the fifth largest cause of sepsis in Europe, accounting for 10 percent of hospital-acquired blood poisoning (bacteraemia) worldwide, experts say.

Resistance to vancomycin is a major problem

In addition, vancomycin resistance is a major problem because vancomycin is one of the few antibiotics that can be used to treat bacteria with more complex cell walls, such as E. coli and enterococci. Bacteria can also share resistance genes between species and allow the spread of a resistant species, meaning that other bacteria are also harder to treat.

Further examinations in other hospitals are necessary

E faecium is one of the major causes of infection. The researchers tested the disinfection tolerance of E faecium by introducing the bacteria into mouse cages that had been sterilized with conventional alcohol solutions. It turned out that modern species of these bacteria continued to grow and were better able to colonize the entrails of infected mice, where they could cause and transmit infections. This could be due to the bacteria becoming more resistant to alcohol gels because of their increasing use, or it may be because they have adapted to the conditions in our bodies that accidentally help them better resist disinfectants. It now has to be checked whether the same patterns of alcohol tolerance occur in other hospitals worldwide, explain the authors of the study. (As)