RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
Katie Edwards, Research and Development Scientist at Genesis Biosciences, explains what biocide resistance is and explores ways the FM industry can shape up to tackle the threat.
WHAT IS BIOCIDE
RESISTANCE? Biocides, such as disinfectants and preservatives, are used in a range of industries including medicine, agriculture and cosmetics. The definition of a biocidal product according to the Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC) is a product ‘which intends to destroy, render harmless, prevent the action of, or otherwise exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by chemical or biological means’.
Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is increasing and has been well documented in the media. We have all heard about MRSA and similar drug resistant bacteria, and though the basis of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is well understood, the mechanisms and modes of action implemented by microorganisms to resist biocides are less so.
While antibiotics tend to have a high level of specificity towards their
30 | HEALTHCARE HYGIENE
targets, biocides may act at one or several generalised sites within the cell. Biocides need to be approved before they are released on the market, but unlike antibiotics their use is not as carefully monitored, which is why the total amount of biocides used in the EU is unknown.
There has been a recent trend towards the inclusion of biocides within a multitude of traditional consumer products, and there is cause for concern that, as seen with antibiotics, the wide and indiscriminate use of these biocides may contribute to resistance in microorganisms.
These microorganisms may already be resistant or they can develop resistance to biocides due to a spontaneous change in their DNA, or transfer of resistant genes from other organisms. When these microorganisms are exposed to the biocide, those that have resistant genes can survive, and therefore reproduce and this can
lead to an increase in the number of resistant strains.
The misuse of biocides could pose a threat to human health if they lead to the survival of harmful bacteria which are resistant to these biocides, as the harmful bacteria can then grow and spread despite treatment with a disinfectant product. Even the emergence of harmless resistant bacteria could indirectly cause problems as their resistant genes could be transferred to harmful bacteria.
WHAT BAD PRACTICES WITHIN THE FM INDUSTRY ARE CONTRIBUTING TO
BIOCIDE RESISTANCE? Chemical disinfectants have been used for decades to control bacteria, but it’s often human error in the application of biocidal products that can result in the development of
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