Events

26 Jul 2018

Controlling superbugs, the Israeli experience

Israel was one of the first countries globally to be hit by a national epidemic of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), resulting in untreatable infections with high morbidity and mortality.  Through his work heading the National Institute for Infection Control and Antibiotic Resistance, Professor Carmeli and his team have led successful and innovative interventions to contain these CRE outbreaks in acute and long-term care hospitals.  Today he will be presenting on Controlling Superbugs - the Israel experience.

Professor Carmeli received his MD degree from Ben Gurion University, Israel and his MPH degree at Harvard School of Public Health. He served his residency at Hadassah Medical Center, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and then served as a fellow in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Professor Carmeli completed his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Professor Carmeli is the founder and head of the Division of Epidemiology at Tel Aviv Medical Center and of the National Institute for Infection Control and Antibiotic Resistance, which is conducting nationwide infection and antibiotic resistance control interventions in Israel, including a successful intervention to contain carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) outbreaks in acute and long term care hospitals. Professor Carmeli is among the first to warn the medical community on the global risk of CRE and participated in several guidelines writing on limiting the spread of CRE. His primary research interest is the epidemiology of resistance to antibiotics. Professor Carmeli is the author of over 250 research articles many of which are on the epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, and the control of CRE. Professor Carmeli is the recipient of multiple research grants and awards, and member of editorial boards of major journals in the fields of infectious diseases and antibiotic research.