Antimicrobial resistance has become a global health challenge, making easily treatable infections difficult to treat. The problem has not spared vulnerable population groups either such as newborn babies who need urgent treatment in conditions such as neonatal sepsis.
Sepsis can be potentially life threatening, particularly for newborns, as their immune systems are not fully developed.
Given the rise in bacterial resistance, hospitalised infants are at high risk of developing drug-resistant hospital-acquired infections. The susceptibility of newborns to sepsis is compounded, as diagnosing serious bacterial infections in them is challenging — symptoms are difficult to detect.
In order to gather more data and acquire insights into the problem, researchers from India and 10 countries have joined hands to conduct an observational study in hospitals and neonatal units.
In India, the study will be conducted at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry. Research will also be conducted in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Greece, Italy, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Uganda.
The study focusses on collecting clinical information on babies with significant clinical sepsis. It will investigate how neonatal sepsis is managed currently so that this insight can be used as a basis for evaluating future interventions in neonates. Outcomes of interest will include mortality, antibiotic use and duration of antimicrobial therapy.
Researchers from all the participating countries met in India this week to understand sepsis in newborns and current antibiotic prescribing practices. It is part of an initiative launched by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).
Focus on antibiotics
“This study would be helpful as the burden of infectious disease is high though it has declined in the recent past. Development of new drugs is not the only solution we are looking for. We are focussing on better use of existing antibiotics also,” Dr. Manica Balasegaram, Director, GARDP, . says.
Nearly 40% of the global burden of sepsis-related neonatal deaths is in South Asia — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Every year, in India alone, around 56,500 neonatal deaths are attributable to sepsis caused by anti-microbial resistance to drugs.
Sepsis in the neonatal period (first 28 days of an infant’s life) is the most common cause of deaths among neonates around the world. Of all the deaths that occur among children under the age of five years, 44% (almost half) occur in the first 28 days of an infant’s life. In 2015, it was estimated that 214,000 deaths among these newborns were attributable to drug-resistant infections globally. — India Science Wire
