Trust your gut: Hong Kong medical trailblazer discovers treatment for recurring intestinal condition
- Professor Ng Siew-chien is a Spirit of Innovation finalist at this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, which honours the achievements of remarkable individuals
- Scientist notes 90 per cent success in use of groundbreaking faecal microbiota transplant to treat clostridioides difficile infections
A Hong Kong scientist’s groundbreaking research on a life-threatening gut infection has paved the way for a treatment programme to be made available at public hospitals from this month.
Professor Ng Siew-chien of Chinese University of Hong Kong’s medicine and therapeutics department is the pioneer behind the faecal microbiota transplant (FMT).
The procedure involves transferring gut microbes from a healthy donor to patients with Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI), a recurring gut condition.
“CDI has a 40 per cent mortality rate when left untreated and a high recurrence rate of 70 per cent. However, treatment options were limited back then,” said Ng, who is also the director of Microbiota I-Center.
The disease often occurs when patients take some types of antibiotics or after they have completed the treatment. The elderly and people in hospitals and nursing homes are at greater risk of contracting the condition.
