Patient treated for first-ever bacterial infection

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman has registered the first mycobacterium canariasense infection in the world medically known as endocarditis, an inflammation of the valves of the heart.

The patient underwent a successful valve replacement surgery followed by long-term antibiotic treatment.

Dr Zakariya bin Yahya al Balushi, inflammatory and infectious disease consultants at the Royal Hospital, said this is the first case of infection in Oman by the recently-detected bacteria. The first case of mycobacterium canariasense was reported in the Canary Islands in 2004, hence the name was derived. Many cases were registered afterwards, however no case of inflammation to the heart valve has ever been registered. The case of mycobacterium canariasense infection registered in Oman is the first bacterial infection to the heart valve in the world.

He noted that the patient was treated by replacing the heart valve and received long-term antibiotics for at least a year, pointing out that this scientific breakthrough is the joint work between the Royal Hospital and Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and it was published in a well-known scientific journal.