Antibiotic Resistance
in HospitalS

“COVID-19 can create a perfect storm for antibiotic-resistant infections in healthcare settings”

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Antibiotic Resistance
in Hospitals

“COVID-19 can create a perfect storm for antibiotic-resistant infections in healthcare settings”

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There are two important limitations to how antibiotic resistance is currently monitored in hospitals. First, current monitoring focuses mainly on a limited number of pathogenic bacteria. Second, it is often based on passive surveillance of bacteria isolated from patients. This leads to delayed detection of outbreaks, non-comparable data, and the inability to capture other pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance profiles which are often carried by commensal bacteria.

Though not a substitute for existing monitoring methods, wastewater-based monitoring can provide data that is otherwise hard to obtain and become the easiest means for obtaining comprehensive information on the prevalence of resistance in hospitals. As waste from all patients is released into wastewater, wastewater monitoring can cover a wider range of antibiotic resistance profiles compared to the partial data from a few selected pathogenic bacteria. The practical, logistical and ethical barriers to sampling wastewater are also limited.

There are two important limitations to how antibiotic resistance is currently monitored in hospitals. First, current monitoring focuses mainly on a limited number of pathogenic bacteria. Second, it is often based on passive surveillance of bacteria isolated from patients. This leads to delayed detection of outbreaks, non-comparable data, and the inability to capture other pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance profiles which are often carried by commensal bacteria.

Though not a substitute for existing monitoring methods, wastewater-based monitoring can provide data that is otherwise hard to obtain and become the easiest means for obtaining comprehensive information on the prevalence of resistance in hospitals. As waste from all patients is released into wastewater, wastewater monitoring can cover a wider range of antibiotic resistance profiles compared to the partial data from a few selected pathogenic bacteria. The practical, logistical and ethical barriers to sampling wastewater are also limited.

WHAT WE DO

1. We install an automatic wastewater sampler in the sewer system of hospitals

2. Samples are collected once a week and delivered to our laboratory in Helsinki

3. Samples are analyzed using a high-throughput qPCR system to detect and quantify antibiotic resistance genes

4. Results are interpreted into meaningful data on antibiotic resistance prevalence in hospitals

5. Results are delivered via an interactive dashboard to help hospitals identify potential areas for intervention


Our digital platform, ResistApp, is unique as it combines a cutting-edge microbiological technology with the best visualization techniques to make the spread of antibiotic resistance understandable and preventable. The platform allows users to have in-depth information on the levels of antibiotic resistance from their samples and to compare the levels of resistance between samples and over time.

Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring in Hospital Wastewater

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