Researchers highlight how BSI infecting pathogens become more resilient

A recently published special issue of Virulence, "Bloodstream Infections", focuses on the resilience of bloodstream infections (BSI) and is endorsed by the European Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Guest Editor Dr. Claudio Viscoli, a Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Genoa, outlines in an editorial "Bloodstream Infections: The Peak of the Iceberg" why a special issue was created focusing extensively on BSI.

Dr. Viscoli states, "BSI remain a formidable challenge for the infectious disease physician, but may become a mission impossible if we will not efficiently contrast the development of resistance." He highlights how the pattern of types of BSI infecting pathogens has been changing and growing more resilient, while also more concerning is the decreasing efficacy of many antibiotics. The articles contained within the BSI special issue further inform and illuminate these concerns. The BSI special issue contains a wide spectrum of clinical settings, with articles addressing patient populations of those at high risk of infections and also those who occasionally interrelate with BSI. Microbiological problems, especially antibiotic resistance, were also examined within the special issue.