For C. diff, antibiotic resistance comes at a price
The super germ Clostridioides difficileor C. diff, can cause dangerous intestinal infections. Treatment options are limited and patients often suffer reinfection, which can be fatal. A new study now shows that this dangerous bacterium can quickly develop antibiotic resistance, although this resistance comes with disadvantages for the superbug.
The findings underscore the need for careful monitoring of bacterial antibiotic resistance, especially in hospitals, the study authors said.
In most people, beneficial bacteria in the gut protect it from infection. When these bacteria die – for example, as a result of antibiotic treatment for another infection – the colon becomes vulnerable, and this is often the case when C. difficile Strikes. People who are taking or have recently taken antibiotics are up to 10 times more likely conclude a contract C. difficile than in people without this disease. Other risk factors include being in a hospital or nursing home, having a weakened immune system, or being very young or very old.
Related: Superbugs are on the rise. How can we prevent antibiotics from becoming obsolete?
Unfortunately, only three antibiotics are available for treatment C. difficile Infections. The drug of choice for most patients is vancomycin, but in about a third of patientstheir infection returns within one month after treatment is completed. One possible reason for this, according to the study authors’ hypothesis, is that C. difficile resistance to vancomycin develops.
“We do not know whether resistant strains are circulating and causing human infections because hospital laboratories do not test for resistance to vancomycin,” said the study author. Jessica Buddlea PhD student at the University of Sheffield in the UK, told Live Science. “Globally, there are few reports of resistance. However, given the lack of testing, this is probably not the full story.”
To find out whether the bacteria might develop vancomycin resistance, the researchers modified two populations of C. difficile: one with a normal mutation rate and one that evolved faster. For the new study, published on August 15 in the journal PLOS BiologyThey cultured five strains of each population in the presence of increasing vancomycin concentrations.
Within four days, nine of the ten strains had developed resistance to vancomycin; at the end of the 60-day experiment, all ten strains were able to grow with 32 times the amount of vancomycin normally used to treat C. difficile infections.
“Our findings underline the need for careful monitoring of vancomycin resistance in UK hospitals,” Buddle said in a opinion“Uncontrolled resistance may contribute to the large number of patients who experience a relapse of the infection after successful treatment with vancomycin.”
The good news is that although the bacteria used several different genetic mutations to evade vancomycin, all resistant strains had one thing in common: They could not grow as quickly as the C. difficile that had not developed vancomycin resistance. In addition, some strains were smaller or had problems Spores that the bacterium uses to survive and spread in the environment.
“In this study, the resistance that C. difficile developed against vancomycin is counterproductive as it also appears to reduce the ability of the bacteria to survive in other ways,” Paul Feuerstadta gastroenterologist and clinical professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, told Live Science in an email. This may be why high vancomycin resistance is not as common in C. difficile as in some other bacteriahe added.
Nevertheless, understanding and prevention Antibiotic resistance are crucial for the preservation C. difficile Infections treatable.
Know how C. difficile Battling antibiotics allows scientists to develop new treatments that are harder to resist, says Feuerstadt, who was not involved in the research. Fighting infections quickly and effectively not only prevents the bacteria from developing resistance, but also means they can’t survive long enough to grow faster or develop better transmission.
“When we identify an emerging resistance problem, we need to make the right decisions when making future treatment recommendations,” said Buddle. “By using the right drug for the infection and taking the full prescribed dose, we increase the chances of successfully fighting the infection and reduce the risk of resistance developing. We need to treat antibiotics as a valuable resource – and everyone has a part to play.”
