Clones of a dangerous 'superbug' that can be passed from patient to patient have reportedly been found in hospitals in the GCC, including Bahrain.

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia yesterday revealed that acinetobacter baumannii, a bacteria known for being antibiotic-resistant, has spread to the Gulf, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The infection caused by the bacteria can affect the lungs, blood and brain - and may also cause urinary tract and wound infections.

It is spread by direct contact, in food, water or soil and its presence has been documented by clinical research PhD student Hosam Zowawi and his adviser Professor David Paterson, who worked with experts to study the outbreak of superbugs in GCC countries.

Zowawi said the study found certain acinetobacter baumannii clones resistant to last-line antibiotics prevalent in all Gulf states.

“Our study found multiple clones of this particular superbug have found their way to different cities in the Gulf states,” he said in a statement.

“Most notably, we found a big cluster of bacteria with identical genetic fingerprints in Riyadh, Al Khobar, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat and Abu Dhabi, which is a very unusual finding.”

Zowawi warned clones of the bacteria scattered across the Arabian Peninsula were spreading inside hospitals and causing outbreaks from patient-to-patient transmission.

“We anticipate this finding should encourage collaboration between clinical, veterinary and environmental microbiologists to understand where these clones originate from, how they find their way into our hospitals and what is making them successful travellers,” he said.

Centre researchers are now collaborating with environmental microbiologists at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

There have been no cases of the superbug officially announced by Bahrain's Health Ministry, but a top doctor said this was a global problem that was not only affecting Bahrain.

“The misuse of antibiotics in recent times has aggravated the problem of a rise in new infections and superbugs,” said Health Ministry health promotion director Dr Amal Al Jowder.

“It's easy to get antibiotics from the pharmacies without a prescription and I think this should change.”

She said patients' over-reliance on antibiotics meant people needed stronger and stronger doses to treat infections.

“Sometimes antibiotics are not required to treat the infection, but if a person takes the medicine at a higher dose it will create a new strain of drug-resistant bacteria which is stronger,” she explained.

“Hospitals around the world face this problem and there is no control over it as bugs, like people, travel.”

The GDN reported in February that under-diagnosed infections, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, coupled with a rise in drug-resistant 'superbugs' would increase the strain on GCC health services.

British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy president Professor Dilip Nathwani warned that over the next five to 10 years, the Gulf and Middle East would see a phenomenal rise in multi-drug resistant infections.

A report by the UK's National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies last month stated that Antimicrobial Resistance, which occurs when drugs are no longer effective in treating infections, was expected to increase over the next 20 years.

It warned much of modern medicine such as organ transplantation, bowel surgery and some cancer treatments could become unsafe due to the risk of infection.

“If a widespread outbreak were to occur (in the UK), we could expect around 200,000 people to be affected by a bacterial blood infection that could not be treated effectively with existing drugs, and around 80,000 of these people might die,” stated the report. - TradeArabia News Service