Cyprus is among European countries where drug-resistant hospital bacteria are spreading beyond isolated cases, according to findings from the largest genomic study of hospital superbugs ever conducted in Europe — though the data on which the study is based dates from 2019.
The findings were published in the scientific journal Lancet Microbe in two studies — one on Klebsiella pneumoniae and one on E. coli — alongside a detailed technical report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) released yesterday.
The Cyprus findings
The study focused on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae — bacteria that have developed resistance even to carbapenems, among the most powerful antibiotics available and used in serious infections when other treatments have failed.
Cyprus data in the study relates primarily to Klebsiella pneumoniae, a bacterium linked to hospital-acquired infections that can cause serious complications in vulnerable patients. In 2019, Cyprus recorded 60 invasive Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, of which eight showed carbapenem resistance — a resistance rate of 13.3%, or roughly one in eight strains.
Carbapenems are used primarily in hospital patients and intensive care units when other antibiotics are no longer effective. Resistance to these drugs dramatically limits doctors’ treatment options and increases the risk of complications, prolonged hospitalisation and the spread of bacteria within hospitals.
Crucially, Cyprus is among the countries where resistant strains are now recorded as spreading within the hospital environment, rather than appearing as isolated incidents — suggesting a more established presence of these bacteria in Cypriot hospitals.
The broader European picture
The study collected data from more than 300 hospitals across 36 European countries in 2019. Publication was delayed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the complexity of analysing thousands of genomic samples, the ECDC noted.
The European findings show an overall worsening of the epidemiological picture compared with data from 2013 to 2014, with increased circulation of dangerous, multi-resistant strains across the continent.
A second Lancet study on E. coli records growing spread of the NDM-5 gene, associated with very high levels of antibiotic resistance and considered a serious warning signal for Europe.
The ECDC warns that without stricter public health measures, rational antibiotic use and continuous genomic surveillance, superbugs risk becoming endemic in an increasing number of European hospitals.