Study Reveals Hospital-Acquired Antibiotic Resistance Among Malnourished Children in Niger
Genome sequencing links rapid plasmid-mediated transmission in treatment wards, prompting calls for urgent infection control and antibiotic stewardship
Overview
- 76% of children carried extended-spectrum β-lactamase genes, rendering many first-line antibiotics ineffective
- 25% harbored carbapenemase genes such as blaNDM, undermining last-resort antibiotic treatments
- 69% of patients who tested negative for carbapenem-resistant bacteria on admission acquired them by discharge
- 11% of children carried E. coli ST167 strains with the blaNDM-5 gene, a pattern tied to plasmid-borne spread of nearly identical bacteria within the hospital
- Authors urge immediate roll-out of targeted infection prevention, enhanced surveillance and coordinated global antibiotic stewardship in resource-limited settings