Infection Control Strategies for Serratia marcescens in Healthcare Settings

Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic Gram‐negative bacterium that has emerged as a leading cause of healthcare‐associated infections. Its intrinsic resistance to multiple antibiotics and capacity to survive in moist environments such as sinks, disinfectant solutions and medical devices pose challenges to infection control. Effective strategies combine rigorous hand hygiene, contact precautions, environmental decontamination with agents active against resistant strains, and regular surveillance to detect colonisation. Cohorting of colonised or infected patients, dedicated staffing and equipment minimise cross‐transmission. Molecular typing, including whole genome sequencing and multilocus sequence typing, enables rapid identification of outbreak strains and transmission routes, guiding targeted interventions. Antibiotic stewardship reduces selective pressure for resistance, while education and compliance monitoring foster a culture of safety. Together, these measures form a multifaceted approach that spans prevention, early detection and containment, thereby safeguarding vulnerable populations and preserving antimicrobial efficacy worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Leveraging closed‐genome analyses, researchers have characterised the pangenome of Serratia marcescens, revealing distinct genetic lineages associated with nosocomial and environmental sources. Core and accessory genome comparisons have defined specific multilocus sequence types that correlate with hospital‐adapted strains, facilitating more precise outbreak tracking. Plasmid profiling uncovered clusters harbouring antimicrobial resistance and heavy metal resistance genes, highlighting the role of horizontal gene transfer in the emergence of resilient hospital‐adapted clones. This work provides a genomic framework for differentiating environmental reservoirs from clinical strains, enabling refinements in surveillance and disinfection protocols through targeted molecular typing.

Infection Control Strategies for Serratia marcescens in Healthcare Settings publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in infection control strategies for serratia marcescens in healthcare settings across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Serratia marcescens: A Gram‐negative opportunistic pathogen frequently associated with healthcare‐related infections.

Nosocomial: Pertaining to infections acquired within a hospital or clinical facility.

Quaternary ammonium compound: A type of disinfectant commonly used for surface decontamination.

Whole genome sequencing: Determination of an organism’s complete DNA sequence used for strain characterisation.

Pangenome: The total gene set comprising both core and accessory genes of a bacterial species.

MLST: Short for multilocus sequence typing, a method to differentiate bacterial strains by sequencing multiple housekeeping genes.

Cohorting: Grouping together patients infected or colonised with the same organism to prevent cross‐infection.

Antimicrobial stewardship: Organised efforts to optimise antibiotic use and minimise the emergence of resistance.

References

1. Nosocomial outbreak caused by disinfectant-resistant Serratia marcescens in an adult intensive care unit, Hungary, February to March 2022. Eurosurveillance (2024).
2. Antimicrobial Treatment of Serratia marcescens Invasive Infections: Systematic Review. Antibiotics (2023).
3. Pangenome of Serratia marcescens strains from nosocomial and environmental origins reveals different populations and the links between them. Scientific Reports (2019).
4. Systematic analysis of plasmids of the Serratia marcescens complex using 142 closed genomes. Microbial Genomics (2023).
5. Serratia marcescens Infections in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2019).
6. The Genomic Basis of Intrinsic and Acquired Antibiotic Resistance in the Genus Serratia. Frontiers in Microbiology (2018).