RAM: Nigeria and 13 African countries limit testing of drug-resistant pathogens
Multi-country research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa indicates that most laboratories across Africa are not ready for antimicrobial resistance testing. It further indicates that only a fraction can assess AMR despite the impending crisis of drug-resistant pathogens.
The findings of the study, released at the African Union meeting, indicated that only five of the 15 antibiotic-resistant pathogens designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as priority pathogens are systematically tested in Nigeria and 13 other sub-Saharan countries. In addition, all five demonstrated high resistance.
The multi-year, multi-country study by the Partnership for Mapping Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use (MAAP), which reveals a lack of laboratory capacity and erratic use of available antibiotics, indicates that only 1.3% of the 50,000 medical laboratories forming the laboratory networks of the 14 participating countries carry out bacteriological tests.
MAAP reviewed 819,584 AMR records covering the period 2016-2019, from 205 laboratories in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon and Cameroon. It also looked at data from 327 hospital and community pharmacies and 16 national-level AMC datasets.
According to the study, just four drugs accounted for more than two-thirds (67%) of all antibiotics used in healthcare settings. More potent drugs to treat more resistant infections (such as severe pneumonia, sepsis, and complicated intra-abdominal infections) were not available, suggesting limited access to certain groups of antibiotics.
In all 14 countries, clinical and treatment data are not linked to laboratory results, making it difficult to understand the driving force behind AMR.
According to the Africa CDC AMR program coordinator, Dr Yewande Alimi said, “This disconnect between patient data and antimicrobial resistance outcomes, coupled with the extreme burden of antimicrobial resistance, makes it extremely difficult to provision of clear guidelines for patient care and broader public health policy. . Therefore, collecting and connecting laboratory, pharmacy and clinical data will be essential to provide a basis and reference for public health actions. »
The Director and Chairman of One Health Trust, Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, while noting that the study was an important step forward for the African health system, adding that the future of modern medicine and the capacity of Africa's ability to control antimicrobial resistance depends on the ability to reliably treat infectious diseases.
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Multi-country research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa indicates that most laboratories across Africa are not ready for antimicrobial resistance testing. It further indicates that only a fraction can assess AMR despite the impending crisis of drug-resistant pathogens.
The findings of the study, released at the African Union meeting, indicated that only five of the 15 antibiotic-resistant pathogens designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as priority pathogens are systematically tested in Nigeria and 13 other sub-Saharan countries. In addition, all five demonstrated high resistance.
The multi-year, multi-country study by the Partnership for Mapping Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use (MAAP), which reveals a lack of laboratory capacity and erratic use of available antibiotics, indicates that only 1.3% of the 50,000 medical laboratories forming the laboratory networks of the 14 participating countries carry out bacteriological tests.
MAAP reviewed 819,584 AMR records covering the period 2016-2019, from 205 laboratories in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon and Cameroon. It also looked at data from 327 hospital and community pharmacies and 16 national-level AMC datasets.
According to the study, just four drugs accounted for more than two-thirds (67%) of all antibiotics used in healthcare settings. More potent drugs to treat more resistant infections (such as severe pneumonia, sepsis, and complicated intra-abdominal infections) were not available, suggesting limited access to certain groups of antibiotics.
In all 14 countries, clinical and treatment data are not linked to laboratory results, making it difficult to understand the driving force behind AMR.
According to the Africa CDC AMR program coordinator, Dr Yewande Alimi said, “This disconnect between patient data and antimicrobial resistance outcomes, coupled with the extreme burden of antimicrobial resistance, makes it extremely difficult to provision of clear guidelines for patient care and broader public health policy. . Therefore, collecting and connecting laboratory, pharmacy and clinical data will be essential to provide a basis and reference for public health actions. »
The Director and Chairman of One Health Trust, Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, while noting that the study was an important step forward for the African health system, adding that the future of modern medicine and the capacity of Africa's ability to control antimicrobial resistance depends on the ability to reliably treat infectious diseases.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
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