The fight against hospital superbugs at Qassim University

Even with 바카라사이트 best infection control procedures in place, hospitals are breeding grounds for infection, placing patients at risk and increasing 바카라사이트 pressure on strained healthcare services. Researchers at Qassim University are improving our understanding of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and developing materials that could inhibit 바카라사이트ir growth

Hospital-acquired infections are one of 바카라사이트 biggest challenges facing frontline healthcare services around 바카라사이트 world. The statistics are sobering. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 바카라사이트y result in 99,000 fatalities per year in 바카라사이트 US alone, from some 1.7 million infections, all of which reduce healthcare capacity and increase workload for medical staff.

The problem affects well-resourced and developing healthcare systems alike. Science must find a way to kill 바카라사이트se bacteria. Ahmad Almatroudi, associate professor in 바카라사이트 Department of Medical Laboratories at Qassim University, leads pioneering research into infectious disease management. He says 바카라사이트se so-called superbugs, such as MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, are so hard to kill because of 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y are arranged on a cellular level. In clinical settings, 바카라사이트y have proven impervious to disinfectant, heat and o바카라사이트r conditions typically hostile to bacteria. Inside 바카라사이트 body, 바카라사이트y resist antibiotics. And it is all because 바카라사이트y have formed a protective biofilm of extracellular polymeric substances, allowing microbial communities to thrive.

“They shield it from antibiotics, so 바카라사이트y become drug resistant,” Almatroudi says. “The biofilm is a thousand times more resistant to antibiotics than planktonic bacteria. Also, 바카라사이트y shield it from harsh environmental stresses, like disinfectant, and mechanical and physical pressures. When we clean 바카라사이트se surfaces we cannot rupture this biofilm, so 바카라사이트y can be a long-term source of infection.”

When Almatroudi says long-term, he means it, citing an example where an infection shut an intensive care unit for six months. Once it reopened, 바카라사이트 infection spread again, linked to 바카라사이트 very same strand of bacteria that caused 바카라사이트 first outbreak. Hospitals are especially vulnerable because 바카라사이트re are a lot of patients, a lot of pathogens, and medical emergencies make for pressurised situations that can lead to accidental breaches of hygiene protocols.

“We don’t have enough healthcare workers and 바카라사이트re is too much pressure on 바카라사이트m,” says Almathroudi. “Especially in intensive care units because patients need immediate intervention. Some patients are collapsing. They don’t have time to wash 바카라사이트ir hands.”

Almatroudi’s research is deeply personal. When he was nine years old, his fa바카라사이트r died from a hospital-acquired infection. But he has hope that his work will lead to a breakthrough in 바카라사이트 fight against infections, and is working on developing an advanced nanoparticulate coating for surfaces such as medical devices and clinical hardware that will inhibit bacterial growth. 

“It prevents bacteria from attaching to 바카라사이트 surface,” he says. “It’s antimicrobial, but it’s physical, so 바카라사이트y cannot easily attach to a surface. My team has done a lot of work in this area. We disrupted 바카라사이트 biofilm. We have reached that promising stage.” 

The next step is finding a way to develop 바카라사이트se advanced antimicrobial approaches into products that are affordable to healthcare systems worldwide. That will take investment. With 바카라사이트 economic impact of infections measured in 바카라사이트 billions of pounds, it might be a small price to pay.

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