Since we learn to walk and eat ourselves, we have been taught that our hands carry germs and they should be washed and sanitised always, especially before or after a meal. And for the purpose, most of us use alcohol-based disinfectants in the form of handwashes and sanitisers. Well, we have learnt today that some hospital superbugs are growing increasingly tolerant to alcohol-based disinfectants found in handwashes and sanitisers, allowing increasing infections to take hold, according to an Australian study.
Hand rubs and washes that contain disinfectants based on isopropyl or ethyl alcohol are widely used around the world and have cut down dramatically on one type of superbug, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, researchers have noticed a rise in another kind of bacteria that lives in the gut, called Enterococcus faecium, and can be spread via catheters, ventilators or central lines in a healthcare setting. “Drug-resistant E. faecium infections have increased despite the use of alcohol disinfectants, and currently represent a leading cause of infections acquired in hospitals,” said the report in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Enterococci account for about one in 10 cases of hospital-acquired bacterial infections around the world. They are also a leading cause of sepsis around the world. “Costs associated with the management of patients infected with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are high because of the need for isolation rooms, specialised cleaning regimens, and the impact on staff, bed availability, and other resources,” said the report. Being “tolerant” means the bacteria can survive exposure to alcohol longer. The delay “is sufficient to allow the bacteria to escape alcohol killing and then cause infection,” says study author Tim Stinear, a microbiologist at the Doherty Institute for Immunity and Infection at the University of Melbourne. “The bacteria we examined in our study are a long way from becoming resistant to alcohol,” he added.
More studies are needed to confirm whether bugs are growing resistant to sanitisers in other hospitals worldwide. “Our findings do not signal the end of hand sanitisers but indicate you cannot rely solely on alcohol-based disinfectants to control E. faecium in the hospital/health-care setting,” Stinear concluded.
