African centers for the control and prevention of diseases (CDC Africa) sounded the alarm Faced with the resurgence of pharmacoreisting diseases on the continent, threatening decades of progress in terms of health and development.
In their study entitled ” Mapping Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Partnership (MAAP), CDC Africa pointed out the growing propagation of antimicrobial resistance in 14 African countries, stressing the urgency of strengthening laboratory tests, data systems and health planning in order to combat infections that are difficult to treat.
This study, the largest of the genre never conducted in Africa, was carried out by a coalition including CDC Africa, the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), One Health Trust and other regional partners. The study indicates that the researchers examined more than 187,000 test results from 205 laboratories, collected between 2016 and 2019 in Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Léone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
One of the most disturbing results is that resistance to a powerful group of antibiotics, the third generation cephalosporins, was particularly high in Ghana and Malawi.
In six countries, more than half of the samples of Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to methicillin, an antibiotic commonly used in hospitals. In Nigeria and Ghana, the levels of resistance exceeded 70%, reveals the study.
The study also revealed demographic disparities in pharmacoreist infections, the elderly and hospitalized patients being particularly vulnerable. It indicates that existing demographic disparities underline the need for targeted interventions to protect populations at risk.
The CDC Africa also stressed ” serious gaps In laboratory infrastructure and data collection systems. The results reveal that less than 2% of health establishments were equipped to detect bacterial infections, and that only 12% of the pharmacoresis files were linked to
patient information.
According to the study, patients already hospitalized presented an increased risk of 24%, probably due to increased exposure to antibiotics. The anterior use of antibiotics was also associated with increased resistance.
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