Tag Archive for: bacteria

Fearsome Twosome: C. Diff and Clade A

/in /by

Clostridioides difficile, C. diff for short, is a serious bacterial infection typically acquired after antibiotic treatment in a hospital. Antibiotics disturb the microbiome balance, and as a result, a bacterium that typically may not be a threat becomes one. But C. diff is not just a single bacterium.

In a recent paper, researchers from London sequenced and compared the DNA of 906 strains of C. diff—906! They reported that 761 strains came from humans living in 33 countries. They found that C. diff is still evolving. In fact, one species has adapted to living in hospitals; the type of C. diff that seems to dominate has been termed Clade A. It didn’t develop overnight; it took many years, but it developed specifically for the hospital environment.

Clade A has two characteristics that are a problem for us. It’s resistant to anti-bacterial cleaning products and therefore survives after cleaning. Even more critical is that this form of C. diff has developed the ability to use sugar as a fuel. The researchers actually tested modifying the diets of mice exposed to Clade A and found that it thrived with a sugary diet.

Where does that leave us? I think that further research should explore changing the typical hospital diet including elimination of sugars and simple carbohydrates. The cleaning part is more complicated. Heat will kill it, but that applies to only hospital instruments; for instance, you can’t heat a door handle or a bed’s handrail or to a high enough temperature to kill bacteria. A different solution must be discovered.

For now, in addition to the normal antibacterial precautions, I think it’s smart to greatly limit simple carbs post-surgery or when you’re spending a lot of time in a hospital.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0478-8.

Research Update on Probiotics and Staph Infections

/in /by

One of the primary threats to our health is infection—specifically, antibiotic-resistant infections. We’ve all probably heard of people who became critically ill due to a life-threatening staph infection. A new research paper may give us insights on how we might be able to reduce the risk of getting infected with staphylococcus bacteria.

Researchers selected a remote village in Thailand to examine the relationship between bacillus and staphylococcus bacteria in humans; the researchers from the U.S. felt that residents of the remote location would be less likely to be exposed to food sterilization or antibiotics than people who live in urban areas. They collected and examined fecal and nasal samples from 200 volunteers from the village for the types and quantities of bacteria present.

They found that half the subjects had bacillus bacteria growing in their digestive system, and about two dozen subjects had fecal and nasal staphylococcus bacteria. They also noted that no subjects who had the bacillus bacteria had any signs of the staph bacteria.

The researchers then went on to do a rodent study to explain how the bacillus bacteria destroy the staph bacteria. While the how is important, it would take a lot of words to explain. Suffice it to say that regular consumption of bacillus probiotics can be protective against a staph infection. You can find it in sauerkraut, kim chi, and yogurt, or in supplement form.

One more research paper to review on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: Nature 562:532–537 (2018).