New study finds germ that 'feeds' on hospital plastic

Kingston (UK): A recent study by researchers Ronan McCarthy and Ruben de Dios at Brunel University of London has revealed that certain hospital pathogens have the ability to break down and feed on plastic, posing new challenges for medical care and infection control.

Plastic pollution remains one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues, and recent discoveries of bacteria that can degrade plastic have suggested promising solutions to reduce waste in landfills and oceans. However, this new research highlights a potential downside: some harmful bacteria found in hospitals might use plastic in medical devices as a food source, potentially complicating patient treatment.

The researchers focused on the genomes of known hospital pathogens to determine if they possess plastic-degrading enzymes similar to those found in environmental bacteria. To their surprise, they identified that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a dangerous bacterium responsible for approximately 559,000 deaths worldwide each year, may have this ability.

P. aeruginosa infections are especially common in hospital settings, affecting patients on ventilators, those with surgical or burn wounds, and individuals with catheters. The team isolated a specific strain of this bacterium from a patient with a wound infection and tested its plastic-eating capacity in the laboratory. They discovered that the strain could not only degrade plastic but also use it as a nutrient source to grow, thanks to an enzyme they named Pap1.

This finding is particularly concerning because P. aeruginosa is classified as a high-priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. It forms robust biofilms — protective layers that shield it from the immune system and antibiotics — making infections notoriously difficult to treat. The study found that the plastic-degrading enzyme actually enhanced the bacterium’s ability to form larger, stronger biofilms by incorporating the degraded plastic into its biofilm matrix. Essentially, the bacterium uses plastic as a cement to build a more resilient bacterial community.

Hospitals are environments filled with plastic medical devices such as dissolvable sutures, wound dressings, implants, orthopaedic devices, catheters, dental implants, and hydrogel pads for burn treatment. The persistence of pathogens like P. aeruginosa in these settings might be linked to their ability to consume plastic, which could contribute to infection persistence and treatment failure.

The researchers warn that this discovery raises significant concerns for patient safety and medical device durability. A pathogen capable of degrading plastic could worsen patient outcomes by undermining the effectiveness of plastic-based treatments and implants.

Fortunately, scientific efforts are underway to develop antimicrobial plastics that can prevent bacteria from feeding on these materials. However, the study emphasizes the urgent need to factor in the ability of some germs to break down plastic when designing and selecting materials for future medical applications.

This groundbreaking research underscores a complex interaction between microbial pathogens and plastics in healthcare, highlighting the need for new strategies to combat infections and improve the safety of medical devices.

With PTI inputs