Hospital pathogens | German Center for Infection Research

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Short description

The term “hospital pathogens” is commonly used to refer to pathogens that can cause infections associated with a hospital stay or treatment.

Synonyms

Nosocomial pathogens

Nosocomial

Detailed description

Infections acquired in connection with medical treatment or a stay in a healthcare facility are called nosocomial infections. They can be caused by various pathogens. Some of these are particularly significant because they can be resistant to multiple antibiotics and are therefore more difficult to treat.

Medically important bacterial pathogens include, for example, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Some pathogens frequently associated with antibiotic resistance are grouped under the term ESKAPE.

Nosocomial infections can affect, among other areas, wounds, the urinary tract, the respiratory tract, or the bloodstream. Consistent hygiene measures help prevent the transmission of pathogens. The targeted use of antibiotics also helps reduce selective pressure and limit the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Multi-resistant E. coli bacteria in a petri dish

Dangerous and “jumping” mcr-1 resistance gene

The mcr-1 gene makes gut bacteria insensitive to the last-resort antibiotic colistin. Especially in hospitals, colistin is used as a last treatment option for infections with dreaded multidrug

Alexander Titz

Weakening dangerous bacteria in biofilms

DZIF scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have succeeded in identifying and targeting problematic pathogens in biofilms more rapidly. The biofilm adhesion

Capsule containing frozen gut flora for treating diarrhoeal diseases.

Gut flora transfer: How does healthy gut flora get into a capsule?

DZIF scientists at the University Hospital Cologne produce frozen gut flora preparations in capsules. The production protocol is freely accessible for interested colleagues.

Clostridium difficile inf

Joint Annual Meeting 2015

Joint DGI and DZIF Annual Meeting in Munich

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide. Current problems such as antibiotic resistance, declining vaccination rates and emerging infections like Ebola present scientists and

Stuhltransplantation MHH

Unusual therapy for gut flora

Doctors at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) have succeeded in curing a patient suffering from a life-threatening diarrhoeal disease with an unusual treatment method: They transplanted a healthy

Antibody test system

MERS coronavirus: A vaccination against all strains?

There is a ray of hope in the fight against the dangerous MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV): a single vaccine could potentially be sufficient to effectively fight all known MERS-CoV genetic lineages

St. aureus

Project start: New active substance targeting dreaded hospital pathogens

In the DZIF, scientists from the universities of Tübingen, Münster and Munich join forces and prepare together with the company Hyglos clinical studies on an active substance against the dreaded

Cologne Infectologist honoured

DZIF researcher Oliver Cornely has been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) in honour of his achievements in the field of life-threatening infections in immunocompromised

Researchers discover bacteria-killer from natural source

Researchers of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) discover a new antibiotic with an effect against gram-negative bacteria.

Ever more pathogens develop resistance to antibiotics. Very

Enterobacter

Mobile multidrug-resistance: A new dimension in hospital-acquired infections

Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have confirmed the spread of a “multidrug-resistant plasmid” in a hospital. This plasmid is a mobile genetic element which can transfer