Hidden Bacteria

These microorganisms are transmitted from poor hand hygiene from health care workers to patients as well as touching of contaminated equipment and environmental surfaces. Microorganisms are most commonly introduced to susceptible sites such as open wounds or other portals of entry by contaminated hands. Infection leads to adverse clinical outcomes and can directly threat patient recovery.

Keeping our hands clean is one of the most effcient and important steps we can do as humans to avoid getting sick or spreading germs to other people. Unwashed hands spread many diseases such as the flue, E. coli, and salmonella. Unfortunately, hand hygiene is still one of today’s most leading causes of infection in health care facilities. The risk of clinicians, patients, and visitors not complying with hand hygiene protocols creates a practice problem for nurses and their patient care. The cause of health care infections, also known as, health care-associated infections (HAIs) are increasing along with the rise of the inability to control or treat infections that are multi-drug resistant. Lack of proper hand hygiene is a major problem in clinical settings sourcing from critical care divisions where the most contaminations are prevalent. This paper will discuss how hand hygiene affects the nursing process and solutions of how to better prevent HAIs within the nursing scope of practice.

faecalis has a low pathogenicity (scilo), it is a virulent, opportunistic pathogen to be reckoned with and is thought of as a super-bug. This is not only due to its ability to resist a variety of antibiotics, but also its ability to travel and employ biofilm formations. It can grow and adapt in many different environments. It can thrive in a wide range of temperatures and has disregard whether salt or oxygen are present, or whether the pH is basic or acidic. Its resilience on inanimate objects makes it a perfect candidate for transmission to occur within the hospital environment from hand to instrument, but it can also be spread via hand-to-hand contact and from food contamination (Public Health Agency of

Checking in to the hospital comes with a heavy price tag, and sometimes you get more than what you bargained for. As highly trained doctors, nurses, and staff make their way through the hospital, they carry with them microbial agents of disease. Although regarded as centers for treatment and prevention, hospitals are also known to harbor nosocomial, healthcare-associated, bacterial infections. These infections can be a result of overused or inappropriately used antibiotics and the breaching of infection containment policies by patients and staff. Though health-care-associated infections have been decreasing, one infection inciting nosocomial bacterial, Clostridium difficile has been rampant. It is important that inefficiencies in health-care be met with stringent efforts for prevention as they may lead to distressing financial, emotional, and medical repercussions.

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), specifically those involving multi-drug resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as well as higher cost of healthcare and longer length of hospital stays for patients. Each year, millions of people acquire infections while receiving care, treatment, and services in hospitals and other health care organizations.

This article is about a Children’s hospital in New Orleans struggling with an outbreak of infected surgical wounds from cardiothoracic operations. There have been at least 12 reports of children contracting a rare surgical site infection from undergoing cardiac surgery. An investigation put on by the hospital discovered the type of bacteria causing this infection is commonly found in dirt, water, and dust. The bacteria, mycobacterium abscessus, has been labeled as a very abnormal source of infection in wounds. The epidemic of infection was said to be caused by a piece of equipment used in the operation room to maintain stable temperature to patients on bypass.

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains often occur in epidemic waves initiated by one or a few successful clones. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is prominently featured during these epidemics. Historically associated with hospitals and other healthcare settings, MRSA now has emerged as a widespread cause of community infections. The majority of Staphylococcus aureus strains are now resistant to penicillin and methicillin (MRSA). Golden staph is creating headlines across the world, the superbug is becoming unstoppable. According to government statistics “one in five cases were resistant to antibiotics” (Alexander, 2017). Scientist are trying to eradicate golden staph with antibiotics, however they are adapting rapidly. Scientists are yet to identify how exactly the bacteria keeps adapting. Antibiotics attack infections by meddling with the bacterial ribosome, which is the part of the cell that makes proteins. If a cell cannot make protein, it dies. “The way the antibiotic works is it throws a spanner in the works. The drug comes in and jams up the machine so the cell can't make protein anymore. “Antibiotic-resistant bacteria find a way to apply oil and restart the machined Belousoff's team compared the cell structure of resistant and non-resistant strains of golden staph under an electron microscope to learn that the latter infections had developed a mutation several

Checking in to the hospital comes with a heavy price tag, and sometimes you get more than what you bargained for. As highly trained doctors, nurses, and staff traverse through the hospital, they carry with them microbial agents of disease. Although regarded as centers for treatment and prevention, hospitals are also known to harbor nosocomial, healthcare-associated, bacterial infections. These infections can be a result of overused or inappropriately used antibiotics and the breaching of infection containment policies by patients and staff. Though healthcare-associated infections have been decreasing, one infection inciting nosocomial bacterium,

The best and most accurate way of identifying an unknown microorganism is by sequencing its DNA, but this is very expensive and only used in highly qualified labs. So, the identification of unknown bacteria number 63 was be done by putting the bacteria through numerous laboratory tests. Microorganisms are different among each other by their macroscopic morphology, microscopic morphology, and the unique metabolic processes they use to survive and reproduce. Identifying an unknown microorganism in the laboratory is important because knowledge is gained on the appropriate way to cultivate an organism, how to correctly read the result of a test, and learning about the different characteristics of the bacteria. All of the following tests were done using the best sterile technique and the most new turbid bacterial growth subculture.

1 and 3). This antibiotic is effective against both gram positive and negative bacteria, so it would be effective against Staphylococcus epidermidis. This antibiotic is able to kill bacteria by interfering with the cell wall synthesis, weakening it, and causing its death. However, just like with Penicillin, some bacteria have become resistant to this antibiotic (6). The hypothesis stated that Staphylococcus epidermidis would be susceptible to Ampicillin because although some bacteria have become resistant this one has not (7). According to the class data, two of the tests resulted in in susceptibility, one resulted in an intermediate effect, and the rest were resistant (see Figs. 2 and 5). It seems that Staphylococcus epidermidis is in the process of becoming resistant to Ampicillin because of the varied data. However, the group data did not support the hypothesis that the bacteria would still be

Microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites can be transmitted to patients via poor quality cross infection control measures e.g. inadequate cleaning, disinfecting and sterilising of instruments, equipments and surfaces around the hospital

They mimicked the cross-links, peptide bonds, that were used in Gram positive bacterium for the cell walls. As the cell wall of the bacterium attempted to use the penicillin-binding proteins as peptide bonds, no bonds would form and this destroyed or lysed the cell wall. Even more interesting is the way in which these bacterium became resistant. The bacterium began to mutate and started producing enzymes that destroy the penicillin structure. Which in turn would stop the penicillin from lysing the cell walls. In a short amount of time the Gram positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, are able to have genetic mutations that allow the species to

After microorganisms enter the patient’s body they can go to the lungs and cause pneumonia. Central line-bloodstream infections occur when microorganism enter the bloodstream by the intravenous line. Microorganisms are transfer into the blood stream by inadequate hand hygiene or improper intravenous fluid, tubing, and site care practice. Multidrug-resistant organisms can cause infections of the blood, skin, or organ systems. These infections can arise due to the overuse or misuse of antibiotics, which can result in the microorganisms becoming more resistant to antibiotic therapy. Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus and Clostridium difficile are examples of this kind of infection. Health care employees need to know the different types of hospital acquired infections and how they are spread to be able to effectively prevent them.

A drug-resistant organism may be introduced into a health care facility with the admission of a patient who is infected with or who has been colonized by such a strain. Alternatively, antimicrobial resistance may emerge in bacteria as a response to selective antibiotic pressure, or a resistant organism may spread from person to person. Often, a combination of these factors may be involved in the emergence and transmission of antimicrobial resistance within a health care facility (Mulvey M. and Simor A., 2009).while according to Toltzis P., (2003) stated that, the role of antibiotic exposure on the acquisition of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the intensive care nursery is difficult to calculate given the covariance of such exposure to other

faecalis has a low pathogenicity (scilo) and is non-spore forming, it is a virulent, opportunistic pathogen to be reckoned with and is thought of as a super-bug with its thick cell wall for protection, ability to conjugate its resistance with fellow enterococcus cells, and its affinity for creating biofilms (microbe wiki). It can also grow and adapt in many different environments. It can thrive in a wide range of temperature with no regard as to whether salt or oxygen are present or not (hence the positive salt tolerance test), or whether the pH is basic or acidic. Its ability to live and survive on dry surfaces for up to 4 months at a time make it a perfect candidate to transmit within the hospital setting, whether that be from person to person contact or via a contaminated surface or instrument (Public Health Agency of