Rise in newborn mortality as antibiotic effectiveness declines

According to a global observational study involving over 3,200 newborns suffering from the infection in 11 countries, including India, several babies are dying because the antibiotics used to treat sepsis are losing their effectiveness. Conducted from 2018 to 2020, the study was co-authored by a team of over 80 researchers. They found high mortality among infants with culture-positive sepsis and a significant burden of antibiotic resistance.
The research was published in the journal PLOS Medicine and provided a wealth of high-quality data to improve the treatment of sepsis in newborn babies. Executive Director of Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), Manica Balasegaram, said, “It was very important to undertake this study to get a better understanding of the kind of infections we are seeing in newborns in hospitals, the bugs causing them, the treatments that are being used and why we are seeing more deaths.”
They added, “The study has given us vital information which will help us to better design clinical trials and ultimately improve the care and outcome of babies with neonatal sepsis.” Newborn babies are particularly at risk of severe infection because of their underdeveloped immune systems.
Nishad Plakkal, Additional Professor of Neonatology and Associate Dean (Research) at JIPMER, Puducherry, said, “One of the study’s most striking findings is the wide disparity in deaths from neonatal sepsis, depending on where people live. It’s not unusual in my unit for one nurse to take care of five or six very ill babies at one time. This makes it easier for infections to spread.”