Study links antibiotic resistance to chlorhexidine

Editor's Note

This study from the UK is the first to link antibiotic resistance with exposure to the disinfectant chlorhexidine.

In five of six strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae exposed to chlorhexidine-containing disinfectants in the laboratory, adaptation to chlorhexidine led to resistance to the last resort antibiotic colistin.

The risk of colistin resistance emerging in K pneumoniae after exposure to chlorhexidine has important clinical implications in infection prevention procedures, the authors say.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen which is often difficult to treat due to its multidrug resistance (MDR). We have previously shown that K. pneumoniae strains are able to "adapt to" (become more resistant) to the widely used bisbiguanide antiseptic chlorhexidine.