Rising bacterial resistance to common antibiotics in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

There is a dearth of local information in Al Amin, United Arab Emirates about antibiotic resistance patterns. In this retrospective study in a tertiary referral hospital, antibiotic susceptibility results were analysed over the 5-year period 2004-08 and compared with a previous study in the same hospital during 1999-2002. Staphylococcus aureus showed a significant decrease in sensitivity to oxacillin from 95.0% in the period 1999-2002 to 84.4% in 2008. Sensitivity of Acinetobacter spp. to imipenem dropped from 99.0% in 2004 to only 32.5% in 2008. During the same period, almost half of Escherichia coli isolates developed resistance to cefotoxime. Significant reductions in sensitivity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa between 1999 and 2008 were found for almost all the antibiotics tested. Klebsiella spp. did not show any significant change in resistance to any of the tested antibiotics. Serious efforts are needed to reduce the risk of the spread of resistant strains of bacteria.

Rising bacterial resistance to common antibiotics in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

There is a dearth of local information in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates about antibiotic resistance patterns. In this retrospective study in a tertiary referral hospital, antibiotic susceptibility results were analysed over the 5-year period 2004-08 and compared with a previous study in the same hospital during 1999-2002. Staphylococcus aureus showed a significant decrease in sensitivity to oxacillin from 95.0% in the period 1999-2002 to 84.4% in 2008. Sensitivity of Acinetobacter spp. to imipenem dropped from 99.0% in 2004 to only 32.5% in 2008. During the same period, almost half of Escherichia coli isolates developed resistance to cefotoxime. Significant reductions in sensitivity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa between 1999 and 2008 were found for almost all the antibiotics tested. Klebsiella spp. did not show any significant change in resistance to any of the tested antibiotics. Serious efforts are needed to reduce the risk of the spread of resistant strains of bacteria

Demographic aspects of hepatitis C in northern Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the prevalence of hepatitis C in various, age, sex and ethnic groups in Pakistan. SETTING: Specimens obtained from military/civil hospitals and General Practitioners of Rawalpindi Islamabad, region and other areas of Northern Pakistan, in vicinity. SUBJECTS: Serum of 1710 patients of hepatitis C, diagnosed at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi between 1st July 1996 and Dec 31, 1997, tested for Anti HCV by 3rd generation Murex Elisa. Required information was collected on a proforma filled for each patient. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The majority of the cases were between 30-60 years of age. There was male preponderance. The infection was more common in Urdu speaking fraction of the patients as compared with others.

The occurrence of hepatitis B and C viruses in Pakistani patients with chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.

To study the occurrence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Pakistan, blood samples from 105 sequential patients with biopsy-proven CLD (n = 82) and HCC (n = 23) were tested for HBV and HCV markers. Of the 105, 87 (83%) had evidence of hepatitis B exposure, 58 (55%) were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), 23 (22%) had hepatitis C antibodies and 25 (24%) had detectable HCV RNA. Significantly more patients with HCC had evidence of HBV exposure in the absence of HCV markers (49/82 vs. 20/23, odds ratio 4.49, 95% CI 1.17-25.16). The proportion of patients positive for HBsAg with no HCV markers was also significantly higher in the HCC group (34/82 vs. 18/23, odds ratio 5.08, 95% CI 1.59-18.96). There were more patients with only HCV markers in the CLD group than the HCC group but the difference was not statistically significant (19/82 vs. 1/23, odds ratio 6.63, 95% CI 0.93-288.01). A modified non-isotopic restriction fragment length polymorphism study on PCR products was used to investigate the epidemiology of HCV genotypes in Pakistan. Due to depletion of the initial samples, a second series of specimens collected one year afterwards was used. Fifteen out of 40 samples had amplifiable product and all were identified as type 3. A commercial serological typing method on the same samples also confirmed that type 3 was the predominant HCV genotype in Pakistan.

Understanding the HIV / AIDS context in Pakistan.

PIP: Understanding the social context of sexual relations is important in understanding the AIDS epidemic. To date, however, no systematic studies on sexual behavior have been conducted in Pakistan. HIV has so far spread in the country through heterosexual contact and blood transfusions. Although the magnitude of the problem is difficult to determine, health authorities estimate that 10,000-12,000 people have been infected with HIV. This paper posits that rapid urbanization, together with the sex behavior of single migrant workers, deported HIV-infected expatriates, the exploitation of women, and the easy availability of narcotic drugs, especially in Karachi, are some important factors which may be responsible for the spread of HIV in Pakistan. Pakistan's population profile, patterns of HIV transmission, and government initiatives are discussed. The social context of sexual relations is also discussed in sections on laws relating to sexuality, the effects of urbanization, and marriage and sexual relations.^ieng

Severe and recurrent varicella-zoster virus infection in a patient with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

We report a case of recurrent varicella-zoster virus infection in a patient with severe acquired immune deficiency syndrome in whom the infection has become clinically unresponsive to treatment with acyclovir.