The threat of medical plastic-eating superbugs

A discovery from Brunel University, London (UK) shows that a dangerous type of super bacteria that often appears in hospitals is capable of digesting some types of medical plastic - materials that are considered safe in the human body.

Scientists have discovered a dangerous superbug in hospitals that can “eat” medical plastic, making it difficult to kill and easily causing persistent infections in patients. (Source: SciTechDaily)

According to a study recently published in the scientific journal Cell Reports, microbiologists discovered that the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) - the cause of many hospital-acquired infections, can "eat" polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable plastic used in devices such as catheters, stents and absorbable sutures... This ability helps the bacteria survive longer in the hospital environment, even inside the patient's body.

Professor Ronan McCarthy, who led the research, said there was a need to rethink how pathogens survive in hospitals, as any equipment or treatment that uses plastic could be damaged by bacteria.

The team also discovered an enzyme called Pap1 - the "culprit" that directly decomposes plastic. The enzyme was extracted from a strain of P. aeruginosa found in a patient's wound. In the experiment, after just one week, the enzyme had decomposed nearly 80% of the PCL sample, providing the only source of energy for the bacteria to survive. More worryingly, digesting plastic helps bacteria form a strong biofilm - a protective mechanism that helps them resist antibiotics and cause difficult-to-treat infections.

This is why P. aeruginosa is on the World Health Organization's (WHO) top priority list for new drug development, especially because it is linked to infections from catheters and ventilators, two devices that contain many plastic components.

While the study only confirmed the degradation with PCL, the team also found signs that similar enzymes may exist in other bacteria, raising concerns about the risk of corrosion with medical plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyurethane.

“Plastics are everywhere in modern medicine,” warns Professor McCarthy. “Bacteria are adapting to break them down. We need to understand how this affects patient safety.”

Given the new threat, the experts suggest developing plastics that are more resistant to bacterial degradation, and considering screening bacteria for plastic-digesting enzymes during unexplained, prolonged outbreaks of infection. The next step, the team says, is to expand the investigation into the prevalence of the enzyme in other pathogens and assess its impact on virulence and spread.

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