New superbug on the increase, say scientists

9th, May 2008

Wellcome Trust and Bristol University scientists have found that a 'newly emerging' superbug – that lives on taps, shower heads, and catheters – is on the increase.

The increase in the superbug was identified in genetic research carried out by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge and the University of Bristol.

There are approximately 1,000 reports of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Steno) blood poisoning in the UK each year, with a mortality rate of about 30%. The organism is also found in the lungs of many adults with cystic fibrosis, and causes ventilator-associated pneumonias, particularly in elderly intensive-care patients.

According to scientists steno flourishes in moist environments, such as around taps and shower heads, and can be transferred to patients. It is distinct in the way it causes infection and can only get into the body via devices such as catheters or ventilation tubes that are left in place for long periods of time. Long-dwelling catheters are used most often for seriously ill patients and some undergoing chemotherapy.

Pan-resistant Steno infections are at least as hard to treat as MRSA and C.diff infections. But although it is common in the environment, Steno infections are rarer than MRSA and C.diff infections and are exclusively hospital-acquired, scientists say.

Steno can stick to the catheter and grow into a ‘biofilm’. When the catheter is next flushed, the Steno biofilm can enter the patient’s bloodstream. If their immune system is impaired (which is often the case in the seriously ill and those undergoing chemotherapy) the organism can multiply and cause septicaemia. The gravity of this situation has been underlined by the new research, since these patients will be treated with antibiotics against which Steno is largely resistant.

Dr Matthew Avison from the University of Bristol, and senior author on the paper said: “This is the latest in an ever-increasing list of antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs. The degree of resistance it shows is very worrying. Strains are now emerging that are resistant to all available antibiotics, and no new drugs capable of combating these ‘pan-resistant’ strains are currently in development.”

New superbug on the increase, say scientists

Wellcome Trust and Bristol University scientists have found that a 'newly emerging' superbug – that lives on taps, shower heads, and catheters – is on the increase.

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