Newborn twins in ICU resistant to most antibiotics, parents deeply anxious

A pair of two-week-old newborn twins undergoing treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital have been found resistant to most antibiotics, leaving their parents deeply concerned.

The twins, who have not yet been named, have been in hospital since birth. Their father, Manik Uddin, 42, a physician from Lalpur upazila in Natore, said the babies were born through normal delivery on 5 May. Soon after birth, doctors detected low oxygen levels in both newborns and advised that they be kept under observation.

Initially admitted to the paediatric ward, the babies were later transferred to the NICU after their condition worsened and they began crying excessively. Since then, they have been receiving assisted oxygen support.

Tests conducted on Thursday revealed that most antibiotics are no longer effective against the infections affecting the twins. The findings came from culture and sensitivity tests, which determine which antibiotics can still combat a particular infection.

When this correspondent visited ward no. 27 of the hospital on Thursday afternoon, the babies’ mother, Kohinur Sultana, was lying in the corridor while Manik Uddin sat beside her. Inside the ICU, the twins were being identified as “Manik-1” and “Manik-2”. Anxiety was evident on both parents’ faces.

Duty physician Mohatarama Mostari said the condition of “Manik-1” was relatively stable, while “Manik-2” was suffering from more severe respiratory distress and required higher oxygen support. She said doctors were doing everything possible and were updating the parents several times a day.

According to the physician, the hospital had previously encountered newborns resistant to multiple antibiotics. In such cases, physicians usually resort to a stronger reserve antibiotic. Anticipating complications, samples for culture and sensitivity testing had been collected five days earlier, and treatment with the stronger medicine had already begun before the report arrived. Thursday’s results confirmed doctors’ fears.

Explaining the growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant infections, Professor Belal Uddin, former head of the paediatrics department at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said indiscriminate use of antibiotics was largely to blame.

“In many cases, patients do not complete the prescribed course or fail to maintain the correct dosage. Sometimes unnecessarily strong antibiotics are used for quicker results. As a consequence, lower-dose medicines eventually stop working,” he said.

He added that culture and sensitivity tests have become increasingly important because they help determine which antibiotics remain effective and which have become resistant. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics allow bacteria to develop survival mechanisms, rendering common medicines ineffective.

The tests for the twins were conducted at the hospital’s ICU laboratory. ICU in-charge Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said, “These babies have done nothing wrong, yet they are suffering the consequences of antibiotic resistance.”