Publications by authors named "Kamal Elhag"

Background: Patients who develop severe illness due to COVID-19 are more likely to be admitted to hospital and acquire bacterial co-infections, therefore the WHO recommends empiric treatment with antibiotics. Few reports have addressed the impact of COVID-19 management on emergence of nosocomial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in resource constrained settings. This study aimed to ascertain whether being admitted to a COVID-19 ward (with COVID-19 infection) compared to a non-COVID-19 ward (as a COVID-19 negative patient) was associated with a change in the prevalence of bacterial hospital acquired infection (HAI) species or resistance patterns, and whether there were differences in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards.

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Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a complex threat to global health security and universal health coverage. Recently, nosocomial infections with carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) is increasing worldwide. We report the molecular characterization and detection of genes associated with carbapenemase producing Gram negative bacteria isolated from hospitalized patients at Soba University Hospital (SUH) in Khartoum State, Sudan.

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Article Synopsis
  • Carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAb) is a significant global health threat in hospitals, leading to higher rates of illness and death due to limited treatment options.
  • Data from a study in four hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan, revealed that 42 multi-drug resistant (MDR) isolates were sequenced, highlighting their diverse antibiotic resistance mechanisms.
  • The predominance of international clonal lineage IC2 (88%) among the isolates, along with some from IC1, IC5, and IC9, indicates a widespread issue with multiple resistance determinants in the region.
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A recent symposium and workshop in Khartoum, the capital of the Republic of Sudan, brought together broad expertise from three universities to address the current burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases facing the Sudanese healthcare system. These meetings identified common challenges that impact the burden of diseases in the country, most notably gaps in data and infrastructure which are essential to inform and deliver effective interventions. Non-communicable diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, renal disease and cancer are increasing dramatically, contributing to multimorbidity.

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Objectives: to determine the prevalent serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae and the rate of penicillin-nonsusceptibility among pneumococci in Oman.

Methods: Pneumococcal isolates encountered during the period of September 2002 to December 2007 in the Royal Hospital were serotyped. Clinical information as well as the penicillin susceptibility reports were retrieved from the hospital information system and medical records.

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Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare the antimicrobial activity of linezolid and tigecycline with other commonly used antibiotics against a variety of clinical isolates at Royal Hospital, Muscat.

Methods: Clinically-significant bacterial isolates in Royal hospital during the period from 1st of March to 30th of June 2007 were collected, stored and finally tested to determine their susceptibility to different antibiotics by broth microdilution (microscan panels).

Results: Two hundred ten bacterial strains were collected and tested including Staphylococcus aureus (29), Group B ß-haemolytic Streptococcus (10), Streptococcus pneumoniae (15), Enterococcus spp.

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