Researchers Detect blaNDM-19 Gene in Saudi E. coli
A first-of-its-kind isolate carrying the carbapenem-resistance gene was recovered from a patient at a Riyadh hospital.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Life Sciences
Researchers reported the first detection of a blaNDM-19-producing Escherichia coli ST167 isolate in Saudi Arabia, recovered from a blood sample of a patient with intra-abdominal infection at King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh. The isolate was resistant to nearly all tested antibiotics except colistin, tigecycline, gentamicin, and amikacin.
Why it matters
The blaNDM-19 gene confers resistance to carbapenems, a class of antibiotics often used as last-line treatments, and its spread on mobile plasmids could make such infections harder to treat. Documenting its arrival in Saudi Arabia helps track how the gene moves across regions.
Whole genome sequencing on Illumina and Oxford Nanopore platforms classified the isolate as sequence type 167, with a 49.8-kb contig carrying blaNDM-19 that resembles IncX3 plasmids reported elsewhere. Because the findings derive from a single clinical isolate, the prevalence of this plasmid across Saudi hospitals remains unknown.
The players
Scientific Reports
An open-access journal published by Nature Portfolio that publishes peer-reviewed research across the natural and health sciences.
King Fahad Medical City
A large tertiary hospital complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the patient sample was collected.
The details
The isolate, designated EC24_NDM-19, was identified and tested with the BD Phoenix system and screened for carbapenemase genes using the Xpert Carba-R assay. Genomic analysis also classified it as serotype O89-like H5-like and phylogroup A, and identified the gene on a conjugative IncX3 plasmid.
Timeline
Study published early as accepted peer-reviewed research in Scientific Reports on 2026-11-05.
Big Picture
The gene structure closely matches IncX3 plasmids carrying blaNDM-19 previously reported in Switzerland, China, Lebanon, and Palestine, extending that documented lineage into Saudi Arabia for the first time. The finding fits a pattern of mobile carbapenemase genes moving between regions on shared plasmid backbones.
Tracking mobile resistance genes like blaNDM-19 helps clinicians and public health officials decide which antibiotics remain effective for hospital infections. For patients, the finding underscores why hospitals rely on susceptibility testing when treating serious bloodstream or abdominal infections.
The takeaway
Carbapenem resistance spreads through plasmids that can move between bacterial species and regions, so surveillance that combines genomic sequencing with susceptibility testing is essential. Hospitals and researchers benefit most from tracking these shared plasmid lineages across borders.
Further reading
Explore more on Life Sciences for context on how laboratory and genomic methods track resistance genes.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Nature.
