This problem is further aggravated by the rise of infections involving antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Despite the scientific and technological advances, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) remain a major threat and one of the top public health issues worldwide. In addition, different architectural strategies are taken into account as potential modulators of the environmental microbiome in healthcare buildings. The hygienic standards in hospitals include several sterilization-, disinfection-, and antisepsis-measures. Thus, the clinical environment is subjected to stringent hygiene guidelines.
The environmental microorganisms may directly influence patient recovery and outcome. Īmong the built environments which have been screened for their microbial composition, hospitals and healthcare centers might have the most immediate effect on human health. These included, among others, residences, museums, office buildings, public restrooms, subways, and hospitals.
In the last decades, the scientific community has begun to investigate the microbial interactions between humans and their built environment by characterizing the microbial diversity and ecology of a large number of constructed habitats. From an anthropocentric point of view, the environmental exposure to microorganisms will conversely also impact the human microbiome patterns and, consequently, the health of the inhabitants. This exchange of microbes is pivotal for the microbial assemblages and community structures in built habitats. Microorganisms that inhabit the same indoor environments constitute an ecosystem that is in continuous exchange with us. The results presented in this study provide new insights into different aspects of the environmental microbiome in the clinical setting, and will help to adopt infection control strategies in hospitals and health care-related buildings.Īs modern humans, we spend up to 90% of our time in indoor environments. Over a time course of 30 weeks, we did not detect a rise of pathogenic bacteria in the hospital environment, but a significant increase of antibiotic resistance determinants on the hospital floor. The compositional dynamics could be linked to the exchange with the patient microbiota. Furthermore, the fast colonization process was characterized by a significant increase of the bacterial biomass and its alpha-diversity. This data was further supported by network analysis and beta-diversity metrics.
The sequencing data showed a site-specific taxonomic succession, which led to stable community structures after only a few weeks. In this study, we performed a longitudinal metagenetic approach in a newly opened ward at the Charité Hospital (Berlin) to characterize the dynamics of the bacterial colonization process in the hospital environment after first patient occupancy.
An understanding of the bacterial community structure in the hospital environment is pivotal for the prevention of hospital-acquired infections and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. In the particular case of hospitals, the environmental microorganisms may influence patient recovery and outcome. This space is shared with an indoor ecosystem of microorganisms, which are in continuous exchange with the human inhabitants. Humans spend the bulk of their time in indoor environments.
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