Title : The intrinsic antibiotic resistance of environmental bacterial species – a clue to understand the emerging of multi-drug resistant strains
Abstract:
The antibiotic resistance of bacterial strains evolves continuously. The nosocomial infections and the infections of immune-compromised patients put a lot of pressure on healthcare professionals. Very often the source of infection remains unclear but the hospital environment is the reservoir of the multi-drug resistant strains. There are many case reports of infections with otherwise non-pathogenic environmental species. The treatment of these infections is hampered by the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains. On the other hand, it is very difficult to treat infections with bacterial strains that exhibit intrinsic antibiotic resistance such as colistin. During an ongoing research project (PN-IIIP4-ID-PCCF-2016-0016, within PNCDI III) we are interested in the isolation and characterization of bacterial species isolated from some Romanian caves. The cave environment is unique and the contaminations with pollutants can be minimal in its deepest parts. We believe that a thorough analysis of the intrinsic resistance of bacterial strains inhabiting unpolluted environments where there is no antibiotic selection pressure will advance the understanding of nosocomial infections. From the point of view of healthcare professionals, there are some issues regarding the reports of antibiotic resistance. For the environmental species usually there are no interpretation standards. Also, for some antibiotics – notably polymyxin/colistin – there are many debates regarding the best laboratory tests recommended.
