Experts have warned of a ‘phenomenal’ rise in infectious diseases set to hit the Gulf over the next decade.

Under-diagnosed native infections, such as the recent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV) outbreak, coupled with a rise in drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ will be behind the coming onslaught, they claim, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy president professor Dilip Nathwani said the threat of "multi-drug resistant infections" was global, paying no respect to the traditional ideas of boundaries or borders.

"Bugs and people travel," he told the GDN, on the sidelines of the International Collaborative Conference in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ICMID) at the Gulf Hotel yesterday (February 25).

"Even though we may not have a local problem that is created by poor local health practices, there is no doubt that we will import difficult-to-treat infections in the future.

"Over the next five to 10 years the Gulf and Middle East will see a phenomenal rise in multi-drug resistant infections.

"Sadly, many of them will cause harm to patients, so it is very important to intervene now and to put all measures in place that are effective and can combat these diseases."

Using existing antibiotics more efficiently until new drugs are developed is key, said Prof Nathwani, to stop the spreading of infection in the first place.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's King Fahad Medical City Infectious Diseases head Dr Mushira Enani warned of "under-diagnosis" when it came to infections such as Mers-CoV, which has killed at least 376 people and infected more than 1,000 since it was first identified in 2012, according to the World Health Organisation.

"We are not safe from the rising concern of infectious diseases in the region, especially Mers-CoV," she said.

"There could have been undiagnosed infections because diagnosing the virus isn't easy, as false negative results are very high with nasal swabs."

Dr Enani said deaths that were officially ascribed to pneumonia were likely candidates for Mers-CoV infection and warned that a failure to follow proper procedures had been behind its spread.

"The spread of Mers-CoV in the region is unfortunately due to a failure in following infection control procedures," she said.

"When hospitals fail to stick to proper infection control procedures, it can lead to situations such as this.

"In Saudi Arabia, there was a major gap in this regard, which helped the spread of the virus.

"This has now been fixed and the Health Ministry in Saudi is closely monitoring infection control procedures in hospitals."

Dr Enani also cautioned that widespread misuse of antibiotics was fuelling a rise in deadly drug-resistant "superbugs" that defy treatment and are becoming more common by the day.

The three-day conference, held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, concludes today.

It has brought together more than 450 medical experts from around the globe to discuss the issue of "antimicrobial stewardship" and the prudent use of antibiotics.

A set of recommendations will be submitted to the Health Ministry on the conference's conclusion. - TradeArabia News Service