The specter, and ongoing rise, of antibiotic resistant superbugs has shaken public health officials around the world. But a new study underscores how even practices meant to curb preventable infections may wind up, at least partially, making matters worse.

Australian researchers found that some kinds of bacteria (specifically, the multidrug-resistant superbug Enterococcus faecium) have grown “increasingly tolerant” to a key component of the hand sanitizers ubiquitously used in hospitals—namely, the alcohol that forms the basis of these common hand sanitizers.

The study authors noted that some of these bacteria, which may affect the digestive tract, the bladder, the heart, and other body parts, are getting harder to kill via standard alcohol based hand sanitizers. In fact, some took a 70% alcohol mixture to eventually kill the bugs, above the 60% mixtures in most common products, according to NPR.

It’s important to note that the hand sanitizers are still important tools—certain kinds of infections actually did decrease in hospitals, though others saw a rise, as the researchers explain in the study published in Science Translational Medicine. “Alcohol-based disinfectants are a key way to control hospital infections worldwide,” the write, but “the multidrug-resistant bacterium Enterococcus faecium has become increasingly tolerant to the alcohols in widely used hospital disinfectants such as hand rub solutions. These findings may help explain the recent increase in this pathogen in hospital settings.”

The overall findings “suggest that bacterial adaptation is complicating infection control recommendations, necessitating additional procedures to prevent E. faecium from spreading in hospital settings,” the continued.

So just what does that mean? For one, people who come into contact with these kinds of bacteria may want to wash their hands thoroughly with soap instead of just relying on what they might think is a bacteria-killing, alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Making sure that bacteria are flushed down a drain rather than potentially remaining on your hands could be critical to stopping the spread of resistant bugs, especially in hospitals.

超级细菌对抗生素的耐药性越来越强，全球的公共卫生官员都很震惊。而一项新近公布的研究显示，一些本为防止感染的措施可能是情势恶化的原因之一。

澳大利亚的研究人员发现，某些细菌对医院常用洗手液里的关键成分——即清洁液常用成分的酒精耐受性越来越强，尤其是对多种药物均有耐药性的超级细菌屎肠球菌。

研究者在报告中指出，标准的酒精型洗手液越来越难以杀除一些可能会感染消化道、膀胱、心脏等器官的细菌。美国全国公共广播电台（NPR）的报道称，有些细菌需要酒精浓度达到70%的洗手液才能最终被杀死，可是在常见的洗手液中，酒精含量只有60%。

值得注意的是，研究者在医学期刊《科学转化医学》（ Science Translational Medicine）发表的研究中提到，洗手液仍然是重要的杀菌工具，医院里某些类型感染的确减少，但另外一些感染却在增加。该研究报告写道，“以酒精为基本成分的杀菌剂是世界各地医院控制感染的重要手段”，但“对多种药物产生耐药性的细菌屎肠球菌对医院普遍使用的杀菌手段耐受性越来越强，比如用洗手液杀菌。这些发现可能有助于解释，为何近来医院里的病原菌增多。”

相关发现“意味着，细菌的适应性导致控制感染建议措施的效果变差，有必要采取其他措施防止屎肠球菌在医院蔓延。”

具体该怎么做？首先，接触此类细菌的人可能得用肥皂洗手，而不能只用之前觉得可以杀菌的酒精洗手液。如果希望阻止耐药细菌传播，尤其是在医院里扩散，关键是要确保将细菌洗掉冲入下水道，不能残留在手上。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审稿：夏林