Latest news with #BilalIrfan
News18
5 days ago
- Health
- News18
War-Ravaged Gaza Grapples With Deadly Surge In Antibiotic-Resistant Disease
Last Updated: Researchers analysed over 1,300 samples collected from al-Ahli hospital, which hosts one of the few remaining functional microbiology laboratories in the territory The situation in Gaza shows no sign of easing, as the region now faces a growing public health crisis with the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, raising fears of increased deaths from common illnesses. According to new research published on Tuesday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, this is the first study since the conflict began in October 2023 to show the widespread presence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria in Gaza, The Guardian reported. Researchers analysed over 1,300 samples collected from al-Ahli hospital, which hosts one of the few remaining functional microbiology laboratories in the territory. They found that nearly two-thirds of the samples contained bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. 'This will mean longer and more serious illnesses and a high risk of transmission to others. It means an increased risk of death from really common infections. It means more amputations," said Krystel Moussally, an epidemiology adviser with Médecins Sans Frontières. 'It's a horrible picture." Experts warn that the spread of drug-resistant disease is worsened by Gaza's collapsed healthcare system, the lack of clean water and sanitation, and severe shortages of medicine. Hunger and malnutrition among the 2.3 million people living in Gaza have made many more vulnerable to infection. Co-author Bilal Irfan, a researcher with Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, said the findings are 'particularly alarming" and stressed that the true scale of the crisis remains unknown due to the destruction of labs and deaths of medical staff. Gaza has long struggled with antibiotic resistance due to repeated conflicts and an Israeli blockade in place since 2007. However, experts say the current situation is unprecedented. The World Health Organization (WHO) had urged Israel to allow more medical aid into Gaza. 'We want to stock up, and we all hear about more humanitarian supplies are allowed in – well it's not happening yet, or it's happening at a way too low a pace," said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories. According to the WHO, only 50% of hospitals and 38% of primary healthcare centres in Gaza are partially functioning, with bed occupancy reaching 300% at some facilities. Israel's Ministry of Defence said it has sent over 45,000 tonnes of medical supplies to Gaza and helped set up 13 field hospitals. It also stated it will continue to allow medical aid in, while preventing its misuse by Hamas. Meanwhile, the Palestinian health ministry said 89 people were killed and over 500 injured in Israeli strikes across Gaza in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll since October 2023 to 61,599. view comments Location : Palestine First Published: August 13, 2025, 19:20 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
5 days ago
- Health
High level of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in Gaza, analysis finds
Cases of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections are high in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a new analysis finds. The widespread prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is expected to complicate the treatment of patients in the war-torn region, where medical supplies, including medicines, are in short supply due to insufficient aid flowing in. The team that analyzed the data -- from Gaza and the U.S. -- looked at around 1,300 specimens collected by Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City in the northern part of the strip, between Nov. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024. Multidrug resistance was defined as a bacterium that couldn't be killed by at least one drug in three or more classes. About two-thirds, or 66.9%, of the samples that were assessed were found to be multidrug-resistant, according to the peer-reviewed research comment published Tuesday in the medical journal The Lancet. The bacteria were resistant to antibiotics, including amoxicillin–clavulanate, cefuroxime, and cefotaxime, according to the analysis. The analysis also found that resistance to two antibiotics, ceftriaxone and ceftazidime, was high among bacteria found growing in infected wounds. Researchers also detected the presence of MRSA -- or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- a type of bacteria that is resistant to several antibiotics, in some samples. The team also compared two periods of the war, the first from Nov 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, and the second from April 1, 2024, to Aug 31, 2024. They found that the prevalence of multidrug resistance was relatively unchanged, from 66.7% to 68.2%, respectively during the two periods that were analyzed. Bilal Irfan, co-author of the analysis and a bioethicist who conducts research at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital and the University of Michigan, told ABC News that the collapse of Gaza's health care system has exacerbated the spread of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. "With widespread deliberate targeting of hospitals, laboratories, water desalination plants, that's even harder to assess the infection burden or the antibiotic resistance burden because the laboratories that would be assessing this sort of stuff are either destroyed or out of the service whether they're in universities or hospitals," Irfan said. "The health care staff that would be regularly doing this have either been killed, abducted or otherwise, displaced so even getting a picture of all this, it's very difficult." Israel has claimed that Hamas uses hospitals, and networks of tunnels beneath them, as bases to conduct and promote terrorist activity, and U.S. officials have backed this claim. Hamas, however, has repeatedly denied it. Irfan said the attacks on hospitals and the displacement of families sheltering around hospitals can contribute to the transmission of infectious diseases, including multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. "So, all of these risks obviously require, first and foremost, an end to the chronic hostilities, but also the reconstruction has to involve Palestinian stakeholders who have been in Gaza, who understand kind of the situation of the health system and how to actually rebuild it and how to repair it," Irfan said. "A lot of these things are not going to be solved even when you have ceasefire. It's gonna take years, if not decades, to even reverse at least some of these numbers and some of these crises." A December 2024 report from the U.N. Human Rights Office found that Israel has established "a pattern of deadly attacks" on and near hospitals in Gaza. U.N. experts have also called for the protection of health care workers in Gaza, many of whom have been killed or detained in the ongoing war. The international medical community has a "duty to act and respond" by calling for a ceasefire and helping stabilize laboratories in Gaza, the authors wrote. The team also called for a coordinated response from humanitarian agencies and donors to the drug supply needs of hospitals. The analysis suggested that the depletion of stockpiles of broad-spectrum antibiotics has likely contributed to the rise of multidrug resistance.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Gaza residents face new threat from antibiotic-resistant disease, says Lancet research
The war ravaged Gaza has now encountered a new threat wherein diseases resistant to antibiotics are spreading across the devastated territory endangering millions of people, who are already dealing with a scarcity of medical and aid supplies, The Guardian reported. The 22-month old war with Israel has crippled the medical supplies in the country and tens of thousands of people have been injured while several others have been suffering from malnutrition. Hence, the high levels of drug-resistant bacteria would signify more illness with a longer duration and a rapid transmission of infectious diseases leading to more deaths, experts said. The peer-reviewed research comment, published in the Lancet Infectious Disease on Tuesday, is the first since the war between Israel and Gaza based Hamas militant group began in October 2023 and suggests a prevalence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria in Gaza. According to epidemiology adviser to Médecins Sans Frontières, who is also the co-author of the studies on drug-resistant bacteria in Gaza, 'This will mean longer and more serious illnesses and a high risk of transmission to others. It means an increased risk of death from really common infections. It means more amputations. It's a horrible picture.' The study published in the Lancet Infectious Disease is based on 1,300 samples collected from al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, where one of the rare microbiology laboratories is still functional. Samples were taken from the patients over a 10-month period last year and two-thirds of them showed the presence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria. One of the authors of the study, Bilal Irfan, called the results 'particularly alarming'. 'We don't even know the true scale because of the destruction of almost all the laboratories and the killing of a lot of the medical staff, so to even get a small insight into what is happening in Gaza is extremely important,' Irfan said, quoted The Guardian. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has now killed more than 61,000 people and injured over 158,000 since the war began in October 2023. (with inputs from The Guardian)
