News

A study of bacterial isolates from hospitals in the West Bank revealed high levels of multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens, researchers reported yesterday in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control. While several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have reported rising rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in recent years, previous studies of AMR in the Palestinian territories have been limited to single-center analyses or specific patient groups. More than a third of isolates classified as MDR Of the 10,007 bacterial isolates analyzed, Escherichia coli was the most prevalent pathogen (43%), and 36.7% of all isolates were classified as MDR, with the highest rates observed in Acinetobacter baumannii (76.4%), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)–producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (69.2%), and ESBL-producing E coli (58.3%). Male patients had 14% higher odds of MDR infection (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.14) compared with females, and age was also a strong predictor, with children aged 2 to 9 years and 9 to 16 years having significantly lower odds of resistance (aORs of 0.69 and 0.66, respectively) compared with those under 2 years.