New study finds antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus bacteria are common in premature babies.
Babies born earlier than 37 weeks gestation are at high risk of infection and are often treated with many different antibiotics in the early weeks of their lives. It’s important that clinicians understand which of these treatments are most likely to be effective and have up to date information if this changes.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham have recently published a study, in Gut Microbes, that demonstrates that almost all strains of a specific bacteria, called Staphylococcus haemolyticus, showed resistance to some of the most common antibiotics, including penicillin and gentamicin. This means that infection, from this particular bacterium, is likely to be harder to treat than it previously was, in the youngest and one of the most vulnerable groups in the population. The paper will inform targeted strategies for better patient care and management of neonatal infections, supporting efforts to improve outcomes for vulnerable newborns.
Staphylococcus haemolyticus, is known to be abundant in pre-term infants, and its symptoms can range from mild skin irritation to fever, poor feeding or lethargy and, in the most serious cases, sepsis. However, this bacterium was previously a minor concern since the infection was easily treated. The new findings, published this week, suggest that clinicians may need to reconsider which antibiotics they are prescribing infants with this kind of infection.
With the rise in antibiotic resistance there is greater risk that the treatments that clinicians rely upon may no longer work as effectively.
Antibiotic resistance continues to be a challenge that we cannot ignore. Even bacteria we weren’t previously too worried are now becoming resistant to antibiotics. The unpredictable nature of antibiotic resistance is a cause for concern. There is always a risk that you won’t be aware of understudied bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, if you only study the usual suspects.
The research team studied pre-term infants, isolating the bacteria from stool samples from babies from neonatal care units in hospitals in London, Cambridge and Norwich. These bacteria were then analysed using whole-genome sequencing.
Outbreaks of infection in neonatal units have increased in the last years. This study found the same resistant clone in different hospitals across the UK, suggesting that antibiotic resistance is spreading between different hospitals, either with the movement of patients or healthcare professionals. The antibiotic resistance is linked to ‘jumping genes’ which can move easily between bacteria, explaining the speed at which bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics.
We are working with the Quadrum Institute to do an even larger study of babies from across the world, which we hope will paint a bigger, more in-depth picture. Going forwards, we know we need to do a better job in preventing colonisation of infants with this type of bacteria. My team are already exploring how probiotics and their use in infants might help prevent infection.
The research was funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Professor Lindsay Hall has been supported by Wellcome Trust Investigator Award.
Head of Research of the School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology
Contact information and biography for Professor Willem van Schaik, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham.
Chair of Microbiome Research
Staff Profile for Professor Lindsay Hall, Chair of Microbiome Research, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham
