A recent study on a common bacteria associated with infections in humans highlights hospitals as prime breeding grounds for strains that are highly resistant to antibiotics and capable of causing severe disease.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), University of Cambridge and Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, explored the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by analyzing samples from humans, animals and environmental sources. To shed light on how these bacteria evolve and spread.

The findings showed that bacteria from hospital waste and clinical sources contained more antibiotic-resistant genes than those from animals such as livestock.

The researchers noted that these hospital strains were more likely to be resistant to multiple drugs (extensively drug-resistant or XDR) and had a greater ability to cause serious infections, unlike their counterparts found in animals or the environment.

Interestingly, the study found minimal overlap between bacterial strains, resistance genes, and other genetic factors in human-related and non-clinical settings.

This suggests that dangerous strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, a common bacteria causing infections that combine resistance to antibiotics with a high ability to cause infection, appear primarily in hospital settings rather than spreading from animals or the wider environment. Emerge within.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a particularly difficult strain of bacteria to treat, posing a serious public health challenge.

These bacteria are resistant to carbapenems, a powerful class of antibiotics usually used as a last resort when other treatments fail.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified it as a high priority pathogen, indicating its serious global threat. This is due to its resistance to treatment and dangerous ability to transfer resistance genes to other bacteria, further exacerbating the antimicrobial resistance crisis.

The research challenges the widely held belief that resistant bacteria easily move between humans, animals and the environment, often referred to as the “one-health” concept.

Instead, the study points to hospitals as the main source of these ultra-resistant bacteria.

Researchers say these findings underscore the importance of improving infection control and antimicrobial stewardship in health care settings to prevent the spread of these dangerous strains.

Targeting hospitals as a focal point of intervention could play an important role in managing AMR and preventing future outbreaks of resistant infections.

This study highlights the urgent need for policies to prevent bacteria from acquiring resistance, as well as strict measures to monitor and limit antibiotic misuse in hospitals.