Publications by authors named "G F Araj"
The frequent occurrence of Acinetobacter baumannii in hospital settings and the elevated rate of antimicrobial resistance in this pathogen represent a serious clinical and public health threat worldwide, and particularly in Lebanon where outbreak surveillance and control are still insufficient. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is a fast and reliable tool to study outbreaks at the molecular level and obtain actionable knowledge, leading to better control measures. A total of 59 A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, motile organism, found in the environment and may exist in contaminated food sources such as reheated rice, vegetables and may lead to gastrointestinal symptoms after ingestion including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting due to enterotoxigenic and emetic toxins. Non-gastrointestinal infections of have been reported in the literature, which include cutaneous and non-cutaneous infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals.
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- Antimicrobial resistance, particularly among Gram-negative bacteria, continues to rise, making colistin an essential last-resort antibiotic despite unknown mechanisms of its resistance.
- A study analyzing 32 carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates found varying levels of resistance to colistin, with distinct genetic mutations and lipid A alterations contributing to this resistance.
- The research highlights the need for alternative treatment strategies, such as combination therapies, to effectively manage colistin heteroresistance and improve treatment outcomes.
Introduction: In the battle against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, ceftazidime- avibactam (CZA) stands as a pivotal defense, particularly against carbapenemresistant (CR) Gram-negative pathogens. However, the rise in resistance against this drug poses a significant threat to its effectiveness, highlighting the critical need for in-depth studies about its resistance mechanisms.
Methods: This research focuses on the genomic characterization of CR- and CZA-resistant (n=26) and (n=34) strains, harboring the blaNDM and/or blaOXA-48-like genes, at a major Lebanese tertiary care medical center, using whole genome sequencing (WGS).