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Bacteria Becoming Resistant To Hospital Disinfectants, Warn Scientists (theguardian.com)

Posted by msmash on from the change-of-plans dept.

Hospitals will need to use new strategies to tackle bacteria experts have warned, after finding a type of hospital superbug is becoming increasingly tolerant of alcohol -- the key component of current disinfectant hand rubs. From a report: Handwashes based on alcohols such as isopropanol have become commonplace as a method of infection control. But while the move has been linked to benefits, including a fall in rates of hospital infections of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), new research suggests it might also have had unexpected consequences. Scientists say they have discovered that superbugs known as vancomycin-resistant enterococci, or VRE, appear to be becoming more tolerant to alcohol.

4 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Fair warning by KeensMustard · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Bacteria Becoming Resistant To Hospital Disinfectants, Warn Scientists" - I don't like the fact they are becoming resistant, but at least they had the decency to warn us about it.

  2. Use bacteriophage by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What we need to do is find a suitable bacteriophage variant that can obliterate MRSA. It's not a permanent fix but it will buy us more time to figure out how to engineer bacteriophages.

    Bacteriophages and eventually engineered bacteriophages seem like the likely future for fighting bacterial infection. It also seems like machine learning would be a good fit for developing bacteriophage variants when resistant mutations are found.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:Use bacteriophage by sexconker · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wrong.

      [On a plague of bird-eating lizards that ate all of Springfield's pigeons]
      Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
      Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?
      Skinner: No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
      Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
      Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
      Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
      Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

  3. Nothing new by RandCraw · · Score: 3, Informative

    An isopropyl alcohol bath is resoundingly insufficient to sterilize surgical instruments. This has been known for decades. Likewise, nobody in their right mind assumes a quick wipe with an alcohol pad will make your skin sterile either. Thus this news story adds nothing really new, except that some MRSA bugs may have become somewhat more resistant to a halfhearted swat of alcohol. Stop the presses...