Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020
Dispatch

Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria by Moth Flies from Hospital Waste Water System

Thomas Rupprecht1, Annette Moter, Alexandra Wiessener, Joerg Reutershan, Klaus Lang-Schwarz, Michael Vieth, Christian Rupprecht, Ruediger Wagner, and Thomas Bollinger1Comments to Author 
Author affiliations: Klinikum Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany (T. Rupprecht, J. Reutershan, K. Lang-Schwarz, M. Vieth, T. Bollinger); Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany (T. Rupprecht, M. Vieth); Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany (A. Moter, A. Wiessener); Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany (J. Reutershan); University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (C. Rupprecht); Universität Kassel, Kassel, Germany (R. Wagner); University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany (T. Bollinger)

Main Article

Figure 1

Investigation of multidrug-resistant bacteria spread by moth flies via biofilm in a hospital, Germany. A) Magnified Clogmia albipunctata moth fly. The length of the corpus is 2.5 mm. B) Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) from biofilm of a sewage pipe with a blind end in the operating room (OR) using the pan-bacterial FISH-probe EUB338 labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (green), Pseudomonas aeruginosa specific probe labeled with Cy3 (orange), and nucleic acid stain DAPI (Thermo Fisher

Figure 1. Investigation of multidrug-resistant bacteria spread by moth flies via biofilm in a hospital, Germany. A) Magnified Clogmia albipunctata moth fly. The length of the corpus is 2.5 mm. B) Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) from biofilm of a sewage pipe with a blind end in the operating room (OR) using the pan-bacterial FISH-probe EUB338 labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (green), Pseudomonas aeruginosa specific probe labeled with Cy3 (orange), and nucleic acid stain DAPI (Thermo Fisher Scientific, https://www.thermofisher.com/) (blue). The oval structure seen is consistent with an eggshell of Psychodidae, which is colonized by bacteria. C) Schematic map of floor −3 (topographically representative of the hospital building). Blue lines represent the main sewage pipe; heat map shows the frequency of C. albipunctata occurrence merged from all floors of the building; blue arrow indicates sewage system discharge from the hospital; black arrows indicate where moth flies were captured on level –3. Arrow numbers correspond to the numbers in Tables 1, 2; arrows 3–6 indicate the position of the closed OR. The gradients in the heat map (summarized over all floors) point to the yellow region, which is 1 floor above the central sewage collection point of the hospital. The central sewage lines were inspected; we found biofilm and multiple moth flies at all investigated points.

Main Article

1These authors were co–principal investigators.

Page created: April 29, 2020
Page updated: July 18, 2020
Page reviewed: July 18, 2020
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external