Overview

• Seventy-six percent of treated children carried ESBL genes at discharge and 25 percent harbored carbapenemase genes conferring resistance to last-line antibiotics.
• Sixty-nine percent of children who tested negative for carbapenem-resistant bacteria on admission acquired them by the time of discharge.
• Genome sequencing identified genetically similar blaNDM-5 E. coli and plasmid-borne resistance genes, indicating likely in-hospital spread between patients and bacterial species.
• Ongoing gut colonization with these resistant bacteria places children at high risk for future untreatable infections such as pneumonia, sepsis, diarrhea and urinary tract infections.
• Study authors including Dr. Céline Langendorf and Dr. Kirsty Sands urge immediate implementation of infection prevention measures, antimicrobial stewardship and coordinated global funding to protect antibiotic efficacy