Recent advances in gene-editing approaches for tackling antibiotic resistance threats: a review.

Antibiotic resistance, a known global health challenge, involves the flow of bacteria and their genes among animals, humans, and their surrounding environment. It occurs when bacteria evolve and become less responsive to the drugs designated to kill them, making infections harder to treat. Despite several obstacles preventing the spread of genes and bacteria, pathogens regularly acquire novel resistance factors from other species, which reduces their ability to prevent and treat such bacterial infections.

Cracking the Code: Unveiling the Diversity of Carbapenem-Resistant Clones in the Arabian Peninsula through Genomic Surveillance.

The rise of antimicrobial resistance is a global challenge that requires a coordinated effort to address. In this study, we examined the genetic similarity of carbapenem-resistant (CRKP) in countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to gain a better understanding of how these bacteria are spreading and evolving in the region. We used in silico genomic tools to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of different types of carbapenemases and their relationship to specific sequence types (STs) of CRKP commonly found in the region.

Elucidating the virulence genes harboured by carbapenemase- and non-carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant rectal isolates from patients admitted to intensive care units using whole-genome sequencing in Kuwait.

is a Gram-negative pathogen responsible for community- and nosocomial-acquired infections. The presence of an accessory genome determines the bacterial pathogenicity and the host immune response, and thus indicates multidrug-resistant strains or more virulent groups. Little is known about the virulence genes in in Kuwait.

Prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and emergence of high rectal colonization rates of blaOXA-181-positive isolates in patients admitted to two major hospital intensive care units in Kuwait.

Background: Fecal colonization by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) can be the main reservoir for transmission of these resistant organisms especially in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the rate of rectal carriage and molecular characterization of CRE in patients hospitalized in the ICUs of 2 major hospitals (Adan and Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospitals) in Kuwait.

Materials And Methods: Rectal swabs were collected from all patients at admission, 48 h after admission and once weekly from April 2017- March 2018.

Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance among Hospital- and Community-Acquired Toxigenic Clostridium difficile Isolates over 5-Year Period in Kuwait.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a leading and an important cause of diarrhea in a healthcare setting especially in industrialized countries. Community-associated CDI appears to add to the burden on healthcare setting problems. The aim of the study was to investigate the antimicrobial resistance of healthcare-associated and community-acquired C.

High Prevalence of New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-1 (NDM-1) Producers among Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in Kuwait.

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of New Delhi metallo-β lactamase-1 (NDM-1) producing Enterobacteriaceae in Kuwait over a one year period. Consecutive Enterobacteriaceae isolates with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems were collected from four government hospitals in Kuwait from January-December 2014. Their susceptibility to 18 antibiotics was performed by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration.

Emergence of New Sequence Type OXA-48 Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Kuwait.

The aim of this study was to investigate the infections due to OXA-48 carbapenemase-producing bacteria in tertiary hospitals in Kuwait (September 2011 to April 2013) and to determine the sequence types (STs) of the corresponding isolates. Eleven OXA-48 carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates were recovered from patients treated in nine different hospitals in Kuwait. Susceptibility testing to eighteen antibiotics was done using the E-test.

The effect of hand hygiene compliance on hospital-acquired infections in an ICU setting in a Kuwaiti teaching hospital.

Hand washing is widely accepted as the cornerstone of infection control in the intensive care unit (ICU). Nosocomial infections are frequently viewed as indicating poor compliance with hand washing guidelines. To determine the hand hygiene (HH) compliance rate among healthcare workers (HCWs) and its effect on the nosocomial infection rates in the ICU of our hospital, we conducted an interventional study.

Comparison of two matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry methods and API 20AN for identification of clinically relevant anaerobic bacteria.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is suitable for high-throughput and rapid microbial diagnosis at relatively low cost and can be considered an alternative to conventional biochemical and molecular identification systems in clinical microbiological laboratories, including anaerobe laboratories. Two commercially available MALDI-TOF MS systems, Bruker Microflex MS and bioMérieux VITEK MS, were evaluated for the identification of 274 isolates of clinically significant anaerobic bacteria recovered from routine cultures of clinical specimens in parallel with blinded comparison with conventional biochemical (API 20AN) or molecular methods. All were recovered cultures obtained from patients attending the Mubarak Al Kabir Hospital, Kuwait, during a 6 month period.

A study of the bacterial flora before and after antiseptic skin preparation of the perineum in male urology patients.

Objective: To establish the bacterial flora of the perineum before and after antiseptic preparation in male urology patients.

Patients/methods: Adult male patients undergoing cystoscopic procedures were studied. Three sets of swab specimens, labelled A, B and C, were taken from the perineum in the theatre.

Molecular characterization of nitroimidazole resistance in metronidazole-resistant bacteroides species isolated from hospital patients in Kuwait.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to screen for infections caused by metronidazole (MTZ)-resistant Bacteroides spp., and to characterize the genes that encode the MTZ resistance.

Materials And Methods: A total of 7 MTZ-resistant Bacteroides spp.

Prevalent PCR ribotypes of clinical and environmental strains of Clostridium difficile isolated from intensive-therapy unit patients in Kuwait.

Ninety-five isolates of Clostridium difficile from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and 18 from their environment in the intensive-therapy units (ITUs) of four teaching hospitals in Kuwait were typed by PCR amplification of rRNA intergenic spacer regions (PCR ribotyping). A total of 32 different ribotypes was detected among the clinical isolates. The predominant ribotypes from the clinical isolates were types 097 and 078, which accounted for approximately 40 % of all isolates in the ITUs in Kuwait.

In vitro activity of 15 antimicrobial agents against clinical isolates of Clostridium difficile in Kuwait.

A total of 73 clinical isolates of Clostridium difficile isolated from stool/rectal swabs of patients admitted to the intensive care units at Mubarak Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital Burn unit and Haematology wards at the Kuwait Cancer Control Centre, were investigated for their susceptibility to 15 antibiotics using the Etest. Amoxycillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, meropenem, metronidazole, penicillin, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, teicoplanin and vancomycin had excellent activities with MIC(90)s of 0.38, 0.