Nigerian babies are born with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, specifically colistin-resistant strains.
This is according to a recent report by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an international organization focused on improving vaccine access for children in the world’s poorest countries, which raised concerns on the future health of babies in Nigeria.
The report which examined samples from mothers and newborns in Nigeria stated that babies younger than one week old already had colistin-resistant bacteria, even though neither the mothers nor the infants had been treated with colistin.
Out of the 4,907 samples analyzed, 1% had genes conferring colistin resistance, affecting 41 mothers and eight babies.
Colistin is considered a last-resort antibiotic, critical for treating severe infections when other antibiotics fail. The presence of colistin-resistant bacteria in newborns is particularly concerning because it suggests that these babies could be at a higher risk of developing drug-resistant infections in the future.
What is antimicrobial resistance?
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, fungi, and parasites develop the ability to resist the effects of medications, making infections harder to treat.
Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, has some of the highest rates of deaths associated with antimicrobial resistance, with 23.5 deaths per 100,000 people. By 2050, it is predicted that more people will die from antimicrobial resistance than from cancer and diabetes combined.
The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies AMR as one of the top global public health and development threats. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in both human medicine and agriculture have accelerated this process, posing a significant risk to global health.
Sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by the body’s extreme response to infection, accounts for about 11 million deaths globally each year. The rise of antimicrobial resistance makes treating sepsis increasingly difficult.
Link to agricultural practices
The study points to the potential link between the use of colistin in agriculture and the emergence of resistance in humans. Globally, more antibiotics are prescribed to animals than to humans.
According to the report, Colistin is rarely used in Nigerian hospitals, suggesting that its resistance may stem from agricultural settings where it is used to promote growth and prevent infections in livestock.
Most of this consumption is not to treat infections but to prevent infections or promote faster growth in animals. Estimates suggest that almost 100,000 tonnes of antibiotics were used to raise cattle, sheep, chickens, and pigs in 2022, with usage expected to increase by another 8% by 2030.
This practice has been linked to the spread of colistin resistance globally, thereby leading to a direct increase in antibiotic-resistant infections.
More insights
Several countries have recognized the dangers of using colistin in agriculture and have implemented bans.
China, for example, banned its use in agriculture after discovering colistin-resistant genes in bacteria from pig farms.
Similarly, the European Union has expanded laws to make it illegal to add antibiotics, including colistin, to livestock feeds as a preventive measure.
However, while European countries have banned the use of colistin in farming, they paradoxically still actively export livestock feeds containing colistin to low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria.
Call for action
The report calls for a global ban on the indiscriminate use of colistin in agriculture to preserve its effectiveness for human medicine.
However, it also acknowledges the challenges this poses for food production and farmers’ livelihoods, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria.
Urgent investment is needed in hospital infection prevention, improved sanitation, and hygiene facilities on farms to limit the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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