Epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections: determination by pyocin typing

Abstract

The epidemiology of hospital infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated by pyocin typing. The typing method, which determined the pyocin activity of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa on 27 indicator strains, was 43.7% reproducible, but elimination of 9 indicator strains doubled the reproducibility and yielded more readable pyocin inhibition zones. Seventy-eight of 1,084 isolates (7.2%) were untypable. In the second part of the study, P. aeruginosa was isolated from 110 patients (5.4% of all admissions) in a 3-month period and typed with the revised method. Twenty pyocin types were identified, 10 of which were obtained from five or more patients. P. aeruginosa was isolated from 45 of 353 environmental samples, including water fountains, ice machines, bar soaps, and germicide solutions for toilet brushes. Twenty percent of the environmental samples were untypable but, among typable strains, the five most common environmental strains were the same as the strains most frequently isolated from patients. The organism was frequently isolated from noses (39%), throats (39%), and stools (29%) of patients with P. aeruginosa infections or colonizations in urine, sputum, surgical wounds, or skin lesions. Six of eight patients had P. aeruginosa in their tracheostomy wounds. Autoinfections by strains already acquired on carrier sites may be significant.

Isolation of Some Microorganisms from Bar Soaps and Liquid Soaps in Hospital Environments

“…They also affirmed that the hands are a major vehicle for the transfer of Pseudomonas bacteria and implicated bar soap in its spread. 14 Other groups of researchers have found that bacteria survive on soap bars in continuous use in public lavatories, even when cultured 48 hours following their last use. 15,22 The role of the soap dish in infection control has also been studied.…”

“…13 Much studies have been written and debated regarding the use of bar versus liquid skin cleansers in relation to infection control. 7, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] In this study, the aim was to detect and compare bacterial contamination of soap bars and liquid soaps.…”

Evolutionary and ecological role of extracellular contractile injection systems: from threat to weapon

“…Importantly, during this period, it was found that R-type pyocins have a more efficient killing activity than headless mutants of a related phage, supporting the hypothesis that these particles are not simply defective prophages but evolved weapons ( Shinomiya and Shiga, 1979 ). Additionally, their advantage for medical use was explored, employing pyocins for P. aeruginosa typing ( Farmer and Herman, 1969 ; Rose et al, 1971 ; Edmonds et al, 1972 ; Lovrekovich et al, 1972 ; Jones et al, 1974 ; Duncan and Booth, 1975 ; Bruun et al, 1976 ; Fyfe et al, 1984 ; Schable et al, 1986 ) as well as a potential treatment against P. aeruginosa infections ( Merrikin and Terry, 1972 ; Haas et al, 1974 ). In addition to all these findings, a new type of phage tail-like pyocin, the F-type, was discovered ( Takeya et al, 1969 ; Govan, 1974b ; Kuroda et al, 1979 ; Kuroda and Kageyama, 1979 , 1981 ; Michel-Briand and Baysse, 2002 ; Saha et al, 2023 ).…”

“…The usage of eCISs for potential biotechnological applications is not a recent concept. These particles were already used in the 1970s as a tool for P. aeruginosa typing or “fingerprinting” to better identify, investigate and control outbreaks ( Farmer and Herman, 1969 ; Rose et al, 1971 ; Edmonds et al, 1972 ; Lovrekovich et al, 1972 ; Jones et al, 1974 ; Duncan and Booth, 1975 ; Bruun et al, 1976 ; Fyfe et al, 1984 ; Schable et al, 1986 ). Furthermore, as multi-drug resistant bacterial infections are becoming more frequent and more difficult to treat, the high specificity of eCISs, specifically R-tailocins, has interesting potential for medical applications in the treatment of nosocomial P. aeruginosa infections.…”