Gram-negative bacteria are becoming more and more prevalent in cases of infection hospitals and medics are starting to realise what a threat these types of bacteria have on our healthcare system.
Gram-negative bacteria have a unique structure compared to its counterpart - gram-positive bacteria. They contain two different membranes on other sides of the peptidoglycan cell wall (its thinner in Gram-negative bacteria) rather than just one. This extra membrane makes it harder for drugs to penetrate into the cytoplasm of the cell where it does most of its job. This also results in the bacteria becoming harder to kill with disinfectants as the drying effect posed by these harsh chemicals are no longer a concern with the added moisture from the second layer.
However, an easy test can be done that determine the nature of a strand of bacteria. If you apply alcohol to the culture, both types of bacterium are reduced to the peptidoglycan cell wall on the outer side (with the only the outer capsule being removed from the gram-positive bacteria and both the capsule and the outer membrane bein removed from the gram-negative). As the peptidoglycan cell wall is thinner with the gram-negative bacteria, it is more permeable, allowing any added stain to float out of the cell. By adding crystal violet, the gram-positive bacteria are stained while the gram-negative bacteria are not. further tests can be done to stain the gram-negative bacteria a different colour such as the experiment with safranin (a peach colour).
But identifying these strains will not mitigate any extensive damage they may inflict. With the most frequent infections being caused by these bacteria mostly being UTI's, action must be taken to reduce the spread of these bacteria. As the bacteria colonise the GI tract, they ascend through the urinary tract and cause these infections, yet some may experience asymptomatic tract infections which make them more dangerous. Respiratory and Intraabdominal infections are also caused by these strains but at a lower rate.
Many new discoveries can help eradicate GNB such as new antibiotics that the bacteria are not resistant to yet or the development of clinical bacteriophages (a virus that isolates bacterium cells without harming other cells) which can help reduce the spread of GNBs.
But this threat is closer than people realise and without any tangible results, a pandemic may be imminent.
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