Using a genomic approach, researchers have developed a way to simultaneously track the spread of multiple common antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals.
Current methods culture and sequence all pathogens separately so the new sequencing technique could help to prevent and manage hospital infections more quickly and effectively.
Published in the Lancet Microbe, the proof-of-concept study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo in Italy and collaborators captured the whole population of pathogenic bacteria found in the gut, upper airways and lungs of patients in multiple hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and ordinary wards during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The team found that, with most ICU patients colonised by several treatment-resistant bacteria and all patients colonised by at least one, they were able to determine which type of bacteria each patient had.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are able to adapt and change over time to find ways to resist the effects of antimicrobial drugs. This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of serious complications and death.
AMR is classified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten threats to global public health and resulted in around 1.27 million deaths globally in 2019.
It is hoped that the new approach could be used alongside existing hospital clinical surveillance systems to identify, track and limit the spread of common multiple treatment-resistant bacteria in an effort to reduce drug resistance in hospitals and other clinical settings.

https://pharmatimes.com/news/improving-tracking-of-amr-bacteria-in-hospitals-using-new-genomic-technique/