A new study from the American Dental Association Forsyth Institute identified a possible contributing factor to the spread of hospital-acquired infections.
Six notes:
1. Klebsiella is a multidrug resistant pathogen and one of the top three pathogens responsible for hospital-acquired infections.
2. Klebsiella thrives under nutrient-deprived polymicrobial community conditions that could be found in infected hospital environments, the ADA said Aug. 12.
3. Researchers discovered that Klebsiella inside a healthy human oral cavity has natural multidrug resistant capability and thrives when starved of nutrients.
4. The ADA noted that Klebsiella can naturally live inside the oral and nasal cavities of healthy individuals asymptomatically. However, it can become pathogenic under certain conditions.
5. Batbileg Bor, PhD, an associate professor at the ADA Forsyth Institute and principal investigator of the study, stressed that a healthy oral microbiome has a control mechanism to keep Klebsiella from growing. However, if Klebsiella is spread from a person onto a surface, it could lead to higher chances of infection.
6. The study was conducted in a laboratory and a thorough clinical study is needed to confirm the results of the study, the ADA noted.