Cockroaches and antibiotic resistance

According to the British Pest Control Association (BPCA, 2020) of 4600 cockroach species worldwide, two of the commonest types in the UK are the Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) and the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), with a BPCA national survey noting that ‘[o]verall, there was a total of 5904 callouts for cockroaches made to the 292 local authorities operating a pest control service throughout the UK during 2015/16’ (BPCA, 2016).

So, it is significant that Molewa et al (2022) found ‘that cockroaches may be a potential vector for a diverse range of pathogenic bacterial agents. Most bacterial agents isolated are antidrugresistant and antibiotic-resistant …’ For example, Abdolmaleki et al (2019) evaluated antibiotic resistance in the MRSA strains isolated from US and German hospital cockroaches, concluding that ‘[h]ospital cockroaches are considered as a potential mechanical vector for MRSA strains.’ In an Indian study Fotedar et al (1991) reported that ‘hospital cockroaches may act as vectors of drug-resistant Klebsiella spp. and may contribute to the epidemiology of nosocomial infections.’