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©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
In vitro study on the transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria from textiles to pig skin
Pavlina Lena, Spyridon Karageorgos, Maria Liatsou, Aris P Agouridis, Nikolaos Spernovasilis, Demetris Lamnisos, Panagiotis Papageorgis, Constantinos Tsioutis
Pavlina Lena, Mpn Unilab Clinical Laboratory, Nicosia 1066, Cyprus
Pavlina Lena, Maria Liatsou, Demetris Lamnisos, Department of Health Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus
Spyridon Karageorgos, First Department of Pediatrics, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
Aris P Agouridis, Constantinos Tsioutis, School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus
Aris P Agouridis, Nikolaos Spernovasilis, Infectious Diseases, German Oncology Center, Limassol 4108, Cyprus
Panagiotis Papageorgis, Department of Life Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus
Author contributions: Lena P contributed to the conceptualization of this study; Lena P, Liatsou M, Lamnisos D, Papageorgis P, and Tsioutis C involved in the methodology of the manuscript; Lena P, Karageorgos S, Agouridis AP, Spernovasilis N, Lamnisos D, Papageorgis P, and Tsioutis C participated in the formal analysis and investigation of this manuscript; Lena P, Karageorgos S, and Tsioutis C drafted the manuscript; Lena P, Karageorgos S, Agouridis AP, Spernovasilis N, and Tsioutis C contributed to the review and editing of this manuscript; Lena P, Papageorgis P, and Tsioutis C involved in the supervision of this study; and all authors approved final article version published.
Institutional review board statement: Approval was not required it did not involve human subjects or animals.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data to those presented in the study are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Nikolaos Spernovasilis, BSc, MD, MSc, PhD, Director, Infectious Diseases, German Oncology Center, Nikis 1, Limassol 4108, Cyprus.
nikolaos.spernovasilis@goc.com.cy
Received: July 15, 2023
Peer-review started: July 15, 2023
First decision: September 19, 2023
Revised: September 22, 2023
Accepted: October 23, 2023
Article in press: October 23, 2023
Published online: December 20, 2023
Processing time: 154 Days and 21.3 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
The isolation of microorganisms from textiles, including healthcare professionals’ (HCP) attire, has been previously demonstrated in several studies.
Research motivation
The ability of microorganisms to adhere and survive on textiles, raises questions as to their possible role in transmission from textile to skin in healthcare environments.
Research objectives
The present experimental study aimed to evaluate the presence, survival and transmission of different multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) from HCP attire onto skin.
Research methods
Inoculation of 3 MDRB [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE); carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, CRKP)] on textiles from two types of textiles (60% cotton-40% polyester and 100% cotton) at 3 different concentrations (108 CFU, 105 CFU and 103 CFU per mL) and at different time intervals ranging from 1 min to 6 h. At the end of each time period, textiles were imprinted onto pig skins and each skin square was inverted onto selective chromogenic media. Growth from the pig skins was recorded for the 3 MDRB at the three above concentrations, for the whole length of the 6-h experiment.
Research results
Recovery of MDRB from pig skins differed for each strain, with MRSA recording the longest and most sustained recovery at all concentrations and for up to 6 h. VRE showed no growth from 103 CFU/mL and was recovered from 108 CFU/mL for 6 h and from at 105 CFU/mL for up to 3 h. CRKP was recovered from 108 CFU/mL for 6 h, up to 30 min from 105 CFU/mL and for only 1 min from 103 CFU/mL.
Research conclusions
Evidence from the current study shows that all 3 studied MDRB can be sustained and transferred onto skin, with MRSA showing the highest level of persistence on textiles and transmission to skin even at low concentrations.
Research perspectives
Our findings support that textiles can be implicated as vectors of bacterial spread.
