According to a new study, several common antibiotics were found to have an effectiveness rate of less than 50% when it came to treating serious bacterial infections among newborn babies and children across the Asia-Pacific.
Antibiotics Seen To Be Less Effective in Treating Serious Bacterial Infections Among Children, Newborns
The study finds that this is due to concerning levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The study looked into bacterial samples taken from 11 countries across the Pacific and Southeast Asia. These include India and China, among others.
The analysis revealed that several antibiotics that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends for treating severe bacterial infections among children are less than 50% effective in targeting the microbes responsible for the infections. These dangerous infections include pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis.
In the study, the researchers maximized statistical models for predicting AMR rates across 11 countries based on 86 publisher papers' data. These collectively cover over 6,600 bacteria samples.
The researchers discovered that ceftriaxone, a specific type of antibiotics, is likely capable of treating 29% of sepsis and meningitis cases among newborns in the countries that were covered in the study. Similarly, the gentamicin antibiotic was found to likely only treat 21% and 39% of meningitis and sepsis cases among children, respectively.
The scientists predicted that carbapenems were the most effective antibiotics. They were predicted to treat 81% of meningitis or sepsis cases among newborns. However, these specific antibiotics are considered a "last treatment resort" for various drug-resistant infections since they aim at different bacteria. While they can be affected, their use needs to be carefully considered against the risk of propagating bacteria resistant to it.
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Combating Drug-Resistant Infections Among Children and Newborn Babies
AMR is already known to be a global threat. In fact, it is considered one of the biggest public health threats that humanity is facing, especially among groups of high risk, including babies and children. However, the new findings are quite concerning especially for APAC countries that are low- and middle-income, where there is a limited access to drug and healthcare resources.
Dr. Phoebe Williams, the study's lead author and an infectious disease specialist from the University of Sydney, explains that the rise of AMR is more rapid than thought. Dr. Williams adds that there is an urgent need to have novel solutions to hamper multidrug-resistant infections and to stop several thousands of children from dying each year.
Dr. Williams also notes that the issue goes beyond the need to update WHO guidelines regarding the use of antibiotics among children. One of the biggest concerns is that there is nothing new to recommend as there are no new licensed drugs that can be administered to babies and children. Dr. William notes that among the 14 new antibiotics that were licensed since the year 2000, only four of these are licensed to be used among babies, since drug companies are reluctant to conduct trials among children and babies.
The authors note the urgent need to have new drugs for treating common infections among children and that this should be prioritized during clinical trials.
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