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28 March 2024

Patient with a multidrug-resistant microbe cured in Sharjah

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A patient infected with a chronic multidrug-resistant bacterial infection was successfully treated at University Hospital Sharjah.

The patient caught this microbe during a medical care trip to one Asian country. His history revealed urinary tract issues following his return from this trip, and he was diagnosed with multidrug-resistant bacterial infection in the urinary bladder. This microbe is medically known as the New Delhi Microbe.          

Dr Hamad Abdul-Jabbar Abdulhadi, endemic and infectious disease consultant, University Hospital Sharjah said, "Urinary tract infections are very common, mainly caused by normal flora coexisting in the intestine. Such normal flora can turn into malicious bacteria when passed to the urinary tract during medical procedures, which we call in the medical practice a hospital-acquired infection.”

After being admitted to Sharjah University Hospital, the medical team attempted treating the patient with conventional antibiotic regimes, but this was not effective at all. The team continued studying the case and consulting with microbiology consultants and university professors, until they came up with an innovative solution, using a very old antibiotic obviously not known to the microbe, which managed to clear the infection completely.  

The patient recovered completely, and he is leading a normal life now.
 
Endemic and infectious disease consultants at University Hospital Sharjah warned people traveling to Asian countries for medical purposes to be extremely cautious and beware of catching any of the several strands of microbes and viruses exhibiting resistance to antimicrobial drugs.

The consultants warned that such incidents could exacerbate patients' condition, and waste their time and money, all because of a careless selection of a hospital not up to health and safety standards. They also encouraged everyone to seek medical care locally, as the UAE follows high and advanced health care standards.       
 
This microbe was first isolated in Sweden in 2008 from a urinary culture from a patient of Indian origin. It represents a special medical hazard, owing to the fact that it can resist all modern antimicrobial drugs. It is also a challenge to contamination systems, as it can easily be passed from carriers to healthy individuals.

The microbe has since been isolated in several countries around the world, including the UAE.
 
University Hospital Sharjah consultants explained that drug resistance is a global challenge today, mainly caused by the misuse of antibiotics.

Germs can develop into drug-resisting strands when subjected to antibiotics repeatedly and ineffectively, which explains the necessity of avoiding irresponsible ingestion of antibiotics without medical advice.