[Pharmwaste] Excessive Hygiene Promotes Antibiotic Resistance

[Deborah DeBiasi]

https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/excessive-hygiene-promotes-antibiotic-resistance-316731?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Environmental%20Analysis&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70865191&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_CJ-IqSEb9hjL4lfcpUHmmKiq2jIMtHCd90wFKfhqwd4thr2IFCgAR1JD2Y_p9d9H33olv5oaqAjj1rKdsqmFRGaEclAIn5B08wO-h98OXA89TME4&_hsmi=70865193



*Excessive Hygiene Promotes Antibiotic Resistance*

*News* <https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news>   Mar 14,
2019 | Original Story from Graz University of Technology.
<https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/go/lc/view-source-316732>



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The number of people who die from antibiotic-resistant germs is increasing
worldwide. The World Health Organization WHO considers the spread of
antibiotic resistance and appropriate countermeasures as one of the most
important global challenges nowadays. Against this background Gabriele
Berg, who heads the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology at TU Graz,
has initiated an interdisciplinary cooperation project called
Plant-associated microbial communities in indoor environment which is
funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The research group investigated
microbial control – the degree of cleaning and hygiene measures – and how
it influences the development of resistances. Research was carried out
together with national partners of the Medical University of Graz in the
framework of the BioTechMed-Graz inter-university cooperation and
international partners. The results of the research have just been
published now in Nature Communications.

*A comparison of environments varying in their degree of microbial control*


The researchers compared the microbiome and the resistome - i.e. all
existing microorganisms and antibiotic resistances - at the intensive care
unit of the Department of Internal Medicine at University Hospital Graz
with clean rooms operated by the aerospace industry and public and private
buildings. The analyses show that microbial diversity decreases in areas
with high levels of hygiene but that the diversity of resistances
increases. ‘Built environments with strong microbial control like the
intensive care unit and industrially used clean rooms show high proportions
of antibiotic resistances which have the potential to get transferred into
pathogens,’ explains Dr Alexander Mahnert, director of studies at the
Institute of Environmental Biotechnology of TU Graz, who is currently
conducting research at the Medical University of Graz.



*Results provide new approaches to prevent resistances*


The results indicate that a stable microbial diversity in clinical areas
counteracts the spread of resistances. ‘The microbial control of pathogens
is already established in cultivated plants and also in humans in the
framework of stool transplantation. Our study provides an initial
foundation to pursue such ideas in indoor areas in the future,’ says Berg.
Regular airing, houseplants, the deliberate use of beneficial
microorganisms and the reduction of antimicrobial cleaning agents could be
the first strategies in maintaining or improving microbial diversity.


In a subsequent step, the research team at TU Graz would like to develop
and implement biotechnological solutions for a tailor-made microbial
diversity.

This article has been republished from materials
<https://www.tugraz.at/en/tu-graz/services/news-stories/media-service/singleview/article/uebertriebene-hygiene-foerdert-antibiotikaresistenz0/>
provided
by Graz University of Technology <https://www.tugraz.at/>. Note: material
may have been edited for length and content. For further information,
please contact the cited source.


*Reference*Man-made microbial resistances in built environments. Alexander
Mahnert, Christine Moissl-Eichinger, Markus Zojer, David Bogumil, Itzhak
Mizrahi, Thomas Rattei, José Luis Martinez & Gabriele Berg. Nature
Communicationsvolume 10, Article number: 968 (2019),
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08864-0.
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