Background
Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide threat to public health. WHO has created several resolutions and strategies on this subject at the World Health Assembly. In May, 2015, WHO published a global action plan to mitigate antimicrobial resistance, including tracking and global surveillance focusing on improving awareness and understanding of this issue. The aim of this study was to screen for carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the occupied Palestinian Territory, to investigate the mechanisms behind the resistance, and to assess the scope of this difficulty in the area.
Methods
During 6 weeks in 2012, we collected all available Gram-negative isolates taken from inpatients and outpatients in hospital laboratories at Al-Shifa Hospital and five additional hospitals in the West Bank to screen for carbapenem resistance. Resistant isolates were identified with MALDI-TOF, mapped for their resistance pattern, and
