Colonization of hospital sinks with multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria

Abstract

Water is an essential component of life and it is used on a daily basis for multiple purposes. However, water can easily get contaminated with bacteria. Such contamination is particularly worrying in water systems within healthcare facilities. Apart from the fact that these bacteria can easily end up infecting hospitalized patients, these bacteria can also become antibiotic resistant. This is a phenomenon whereby bacteria can acquire resistance towards certain antibiotics and thus become more difficult to treat. The stronger the use and administration of antibiotics to patients, the more likely, bacteria are to acquire resistance by means of mutations that arise in the bacterial Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA). Although waterborne bacteria can potentially colonize different surfaces, the main focus of this thesis deals with the colonization of hospital sinks. During this study, a total of 78 sinks in 11 wards within Mater Dei Hospital (MDH) were sampled. Extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) and Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) producing Gram negative organisms, showing different types of resistance patterns, were isolated (46% of the sinks sampled). Furthermore, the relationship between the organisms that caused infections within the patients and the organisms that were isolated from the sinks of the same ward containing the infected patients, was assessed. Several mitigation strategies are proposed. Some of these strategies are already being used locally by the infection control unit whereas others may be implemented in the near future.