DAMMAM: New antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains are spreading rapidly throughout the Kingdom, which could have an important influence on the availability of appropriate treatments to eliminate and reduce their spread, according to a new study conducted by Majid Faisal Al-Ghuraibi, a Saudi scholarship student.

Al-Ghuraibi, who received his PHD from the University of Manchester in Britain several months ago, has conducted a study on superbugs and antibiotic-resistant bacterias in the Kingdom; in particular, looking at the lack of sufficient information on their spread.

Al-Ghuraibi, who is now at the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center of the Ministry of National Guard, said that the spread of such bacterias may be a real problem which could threaten the most important achievements of modern medicine.

According to the study, the ST131 strain is responsible for most urinary tract infections and is the main cause of kidney disease and chronic blood diseases. This strain includes more than 60 percent of superbug bacterias that are difficult to treat with the current antibiotics in the Kingdom.

The study also revealed that 7 percent of test samples belong to a strain called ST38 which was previously thought to be belonging to the family of intestinal bacteria; however, the results showed that this strain has developed itself to be able also to cause infection in the urinary system.

The research completed by Al-Ghuraibi is the first of its kind in the Kingdom and in the GCC.