Antimicrobial resistance is a big ever-growing problem in world healthcare and a group of resistant bacteria known as the ESKAPE pathogens is one of the worst offenders. Disinfectants are often thought of as partners in the fight against disease and this sentiment was perhaps never greater than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, a revolutionary study has discovered that a common disinfectant may act as a double agent preventing antibiotics from working and possibly encouraging antibiotic resistance.
Superbug Mutation Could Be Caused By A Common Disinfectant
Aminoglycoside antibiotics are one of the final lines of defense against the ESKAPE pathogens but they too are now under threat from friendly fire. Antibiotic benzalkonium chloride (BAC) has been tested on aminoglycosides and the ESKAPE pathogens by Macquarie University researchers Dr. Francesca Short and Professor Ian Paulsen.
“BAC is a biocide disinfectant valued for being non-toxic and as a result is widely used in healthcare food safety, and agriculture as well as in common household products such as antibacterial wipes wound disinfectants eyedrops and eardrops,” Dr. Short said.
“In some countries, biocides are not controlled and there is little knowledge about what they do to the microorganisms they are used on. This can be a difficult thing to handle in the future as a standard has to be set with regard to the use of such biocides. We have all seen in the past that such negligence can cost us dearly. In order to avoid such costly mistakes, health organizations around the world have to come together to work on the standards for using such biocides.
The researchers discovered that even at low doses BAC can prevent aminoglycosides from accomplishing their function by preventing them from entering the bacterial cell. This is the first time researchers have looked at the interaction between BAC and aminoglycosides systematically according to funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Further research is going on in this area and the next few years may lead to a new direction about these biocides.
It also significantly increases the number of new potentially resistant mutations that develop.
Our findings imply that precautions should be made to avoid bacteria from being exposed to lower levels of BAC levels that are not strong enough to kill bacteria but high enough to allow mutations or allow bacteria to progressively become accustomed to the antibiotics’ effects.
Dr. Short believes that greater research will let us use these products to their full potential while lowering the chance of bacteria becoming resistant to them.
“Many different factors are determining which disinfectants are best for hospitals and we can’t simply stop disinfecting surfaces in healthcare settings,” she said.
However, as consumers, we should not choose antibacterial items as a default simply because we believe they would provide better protection for our family. Using regular soap and cleaning chemicals you can get rid of almost all of the bacteria. If you want to disinfect your bathroom sink or kitchen bench you don’t need a hospital-grade disinfectant or wipe that leaves an antibacterial residue.
“When it comes to personal care products like eye drops in future it would be preferable to switch to single-use pre-sterilized products instead of using chemical preservatives as BAC not only reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics but can also cause irritation and even eye damage with long-term use.”
The class generated the preliminary data and they are all consortium authors on the research which was recently published in The Lancet journal EBioMedicine. Victor Lee and Rafa Mamun two of the students returned after the summer vacation to continue working on the project and are recognized as the second and third writers.
