Abstract
Intensive care units (ICUs) are critical locations for the transmission of pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms. Bacteria may develop a synergistic relationship with bacteriophages and more effectively resist various stresses, enabling them to persist despite disinfection and antimicrobial treatment. We collected 77 environmental samples from the surroundings of 12 patients with infection/colonizations by Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Klebsiella spp. in an ICU in Austria. Surface swabs were tested for lytic phages and bacterial isolates for mitomycin C-inducible prophages. No lytic bacteriophages were detected, but S. aureus was isolated from the surroundings of all patients. About 85% of the colonies isolated from surface samples were resistant to antimicrobials, with 94% of them multidrug resistant. Two inducible temperate bacteriophages—myovirus vB_EcoM_P5 and siphovirus vB_SauS_P9—were recovered from two clinical isolates. Staphylococci phage vB_SauS_P9 lysed S. aureus isolates from the surface swabs collected from the surroundings of three patients. No transductants were obtained on propagation in phage-sensitive antimicrobial-resistant isolates. The two phages were sensitive to 0.25% (v/v) of the disinfectant TPH Protect, which eliminated viable phages after 15 min. Coliphage vB_EcoM_P5 was inactivated at 70 °C and staphylococci phage vB_SauS_P9 at 60 °C after 60 min.
Highlights
The intensive care unit (ICU) has been defined as an “epicenter” of nosocomial infections
We report an investigation of important ICU pathogens and their phages in the surroundings of patients colonized/infected with S. aureus, K. oxytoca, K. pneumoniae, and E. coli
The bacteriophages were tested for the ability to mediate the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes from resistant bacteria identified in the vicinity of the patients to sensitive host strains
Summary
The intensive care unit (ICU) has been defined as an “epicenter” of nosocomial infections Most of these pathogens are involved in the development, propagation, and amplification of antimicrobial resistance [1,2]. Phages are the most abundant members of the human virome, present in every community examined [16,17,18] Their wide distribution in the environment impacts both viral diversification and the bacterial host, shaping microbial communities towards an expanded functional diversity of the ecosystems. Lytic phages kill their bacterial host cell through lysis, while temperate bacteriophages (or lysogenic phages) either integrate in the bacterial genome (forming a so-called prophage) or exist as a plasmid in the bacterial cytoplasm. The bacteriophages were tested for the ability to mediate the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes from resistant bacteria identified in the vicinity of the patients to sensitive host strains
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
