Is mouthwash helping the rise of superbugs?

A HOUSEHOLD mouthwash may be creating superbugs by helping bacteria found in the body fight off life-saving antibiotics.

Swilling with Corsodyl, a brand containing a powerful antiseptic, stops bleeding gums by destroying plaque bacteria in the mouth.

But a key ingredient has an alarming knock-on effect on another type of bacteria, a lethal hospital superbug which is on the rise in Britain.

When this bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae, is faced with the active ingredient of Corsodyl, it builds up an immunity.

But at the same time, scientists have found, it becomes more immune to colistin, an antibiotic known as the ‘last resort’ for saving lives. The study, by researchers at Public Health England, raises fears over the use of the mouthwash ingredient, chlorhexidine.

Dr Huabing Yin, of Glasgow University, said it was unlikely that someone using a small amount of mouthwash could be vulnerable to superbugs. But she said: ‘If people use mouthwash, they will spit it out in their house, then it goes into waste water.

‘If it ends up in a river, it may increase resistance to colistin of aquatic organisms, which then can be accumulated in the ecosystem – it can come to affect us all.’

Not all mouthwashes contain chlorhexidine, and Corsodyl also has a daily use version with less of the compound. Scientists placed strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, which can cause meningitis and pneumonia, in a chlorhexidine broth, where they adapted to survive greater strengths of the chemical over time. Five of the six strains were also more resistant to colistin. Co-author J Mark Sutton said: ‘It has potential implications for our ability to prevent infections during routine and emergency surgery, and admission to hospitals.’ On the Corsodyl claims, he said: ‘The study did not test chlorhexidine in mouthwashes so we have no evidence to support this.’

The rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae is rising in British hospitals.

Up to 41 per cent of patients with blood and urinary tract infections, which are caused by the bacteria, die within 30 days of being infected.

‘Increase resistance’

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline, which produces Corsodyl, said: ‘This study refers to products for hospital infection control that typically have a concentration of 4 per cent or more of chlorhexidine.

‘Corsodyl Mouthrinse contains a very low concentration of chlorhexidine (0.2 per cent) and is intended for short-term use only. In these conditions of use, with over 50 years of clinical data, no emergent microbial resistance has been reported.’