A Basel research team has discovered 35 new bacteria in the hospital
Published: Monday, Jan 8th 2024, 09:20
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Swiss researchers have discovered 35 new species of bacteria in hospitals. Seven of them can cause infections in humans, as a study published in the journal "BMC Microbioloy" shows.
Unknown germs keep turning up in hospitals. A team from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel has been collecting such samples from patients with a wide range of illnesses since 2014, as the University of Basel announced on Monday.
When analyzing these samples using conventional laboratory methods such as mass spectroscopy or sequencing a small fragment of the genome, they were unable to assign 61 bacteria to any known species. The researchers analyzed the entire genome of all these bacteria using a method that, according to the University of Basel, has only been available for a few years.
It turned out that 26 of the bacterial species were already known. However, according to the researchers, their genome sequences had only recently been stored in databases or the bacteria had only recently been described. 35 of the bacterial species had never been discovered before.
A large part still unbaptized
Whoever discovers a new species gets to choose its name. So far, the researchers in Basel have named two of the bacteria, according to the university. One bacterium has been named Pseudoclavibacter triregionum, in reference to Basel's location on the border between Switzerland, France and Germany.
According to the researchers' analysis, seven of the bacterial species, most of which are still unnamed, are clinically important, i.e. capable of causing infections in humans.
Many of these types of bacteria are found naturally in the skin and mucous membranes of humans. "They are therefore often underestimated and have been little researched," study leader Daniel Goldenberger was quoted as saying in the press release. However, if they enter the bloodstream, for example due to a tumor, they could trigger infections.
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