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Antibiotics are drugs used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. But when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, it becomes more difficult to treat the infections they cause, resulting in higher medical costs, extended hospital stays and increased mortality. Although antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals speeds up the process, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The United Nations health agency describes antibiotic resistance as the greatest threat to global health, food security and development today. He warned that a growing number of infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea and salmonellosis are increasingly difficult to treat as the antibiotics used to treat them become less effective.
A new study published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases also warned of a deadly emerging pandemic of antibiotic resistance that could spread around the world. He found an unusual pattern of deadly bacteria resistant to all standard antibiotics in children with pneumonia in Bangladesh.
The study was co-authored by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) with colleagues at the International Diarrheal Disease Research Center, Bangladesh (abbreviated icddr, b). It was led by Mohammod Jobayer Chisti, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator in Nutrition and Clinical Services Division at icddr, b.
Children die of bacterial infections resistant to antibioticsin Bangladesh
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that causes fluid and pus to fill the alveoli, producing cough, fever, difficulty breathing, and other symptoms. Without effective treatment, the infection can be fatal. In fact, pneumonia is the most common cause of death in young children, according to the WHO. In young children, pneumonia can be caused by viruses, but certain types of bacteria such as staphylococcus (“staphylococcus”), streptococcus (“streptococcus”) and haemophilus influenzae are also common sources of infection. These bacterial causes of pneumonia generally respond well to antibiotic therapy. There are also vaccines for the latter two, which have saved countless lives around the world.
However, researchers at icddr, b are seeing an increasing number of young children with pneumonia who are very resistant to treatment with standard antibiotics. Dozens of children died of pneumonia between 2014 and 2017, despite receiving antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization and improved respiratory support at the hospital affiliated with icddr, b, said Chisti.
Gram-negative bacteria responsible for 77% of pneumonia in Bangladesh
Chisti and her team examined the medical records of more than 4,000 children under five with pneumonia admitted to their hospitals between 2014 and 2017, and found a very different pattern of bacterial infections. The usual staph and streptococcal infections that commonly cause pneumonia were relatively rare, instead Gram-negative bacteria were responsible for 77 percent of infections, including Pseudomonas, E. coli, Salmonella, and Klebsiella.
Unfortunately, the gram-negative bacteria found in these children are known to be resistant to antibiotics, noted Jason Harris, MD, MPH, co-first author of the study and head of the Pediatric Global Health division at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. .
According to their study, about 40 percent of these Gram-negative bacterial infections were resistant to treatment with first- and second-line antibiotics that are commonly used to treat pneumonia. Regarding, children who had bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics were 17 times more likely than those without bacterial infections to die, the authors said.
These findings clearly prove that long-standing concerns that antibiotic resistance will become a deadly threat are no longer theoretical – the problem has taken hold, Harris added.
The researchers stressed the urgent need to address the factors that promote antibiotic resistance, such as the misuse of antibiotics, inadequate laboratory tests for diagnosing bacterial infections, lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation before the problem spreads around the world.
“If COVID-19 was a tsunami, then emerging antibiotic resistance is like rising waters,” Harris said.
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