October 2016


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The rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance among bacteria occurring worldwide is endangering the efficacy of antibiotics, including even the last resort antibiotics. This has become the greatest health threat and challenge in treating bacterial infections. In the recent years the high prevalence of antibiotic resistant human bacterial pathogens in the Caribbean and in Trinidad and Tobago is on rise.

Antibiotic resistant infections are one of the chief reasons for extended medical treatments and hospitalisation times causing huge economic burdens among communities. Diagnoses of antibiotic resistant infections are time-consuming, involving clinical, microbiological and biochemical methods of identification. The UWI, St. Augustine’s Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), Department of Life Sciences, in partnership with the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) have started a ground breaking initiative in undertaking research on the important drug resistant bacterial pathogens. This work is being funded by The UWI- Trinidad and Tobago Research and Development Impact Fund (RDI Fund).

The UWI research group, led by Professor Jayaraj Jayaraman, Dr Adesh Ramsubhag (Department of Life Sciences, FST) and Professor Patrick Akpaka (Department of Paraclinical Sciences, FMS) along with their students and research associate Farah Selina Mohammed, have undertaken the ambitious task of developing advanced antibiotic-detection test procedures. The main goal of this project is to develop rapid and high throughput DNA-based tests called Polymerase-Chain Reaction (PCR) – tests for detection antibiotic resistance. The study has been carried out in collaboration with the San Fernando General Hospital, the Sangre Grande General Hospital, the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, the Scarborough General Hospital and the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Recently the RDI research team conducted a workshop on bacterial antibiotic resistance and new molecular methods for identification of antibiotic resistance, at the Dept. of Life Sciences. More than 40 delegates from various institutions including Regional medical authorities, Health Institutes, Medical Laboratories, Health facilities attended the workshop. Dr Adesh Ramsubhag (Head, DLS) welcomed the participants and Prof. Jayaraj Jayaraman chaired the lecture sessions. The lecturers were delivered by Prof Patrick Akpaka (FMS, UWI), Dr Rajeev Nagassar, ERHA, Dr Adesh Ramsubhag and Farah Mohammed.