Antibiotics for common childhood infections no longer effective, researchers say

A team led by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia found that drugs to treat common infections in children and babies are no longer effective in most parts of the world due to high rates of antibiotic resistance.

According to Report, the results of the study were published in The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia magazine.

The study analyzed 6,648 bacterial isolates from 11 countries across 86 publications to review antibiotic susceptibility for common bacteria causing childhood infections.

They found that many antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization had less than 50% effectiveness in treating childhood infections such as pneumonia, sepsis (bloodstream infections) and meningitis.

The study found that one antibiotic, in particular, ceftriaxone, was likely to be effective in treating only one in three cases of sepsis or meningitis in newborn babies.

Another antibiotic, gentamicin, was found likely to be effective in treating fewer than half of all sepsis and meningitis cases in children.

The WHO has declared that antimicrobial resistance is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. The most recent guidelines from the WHO were published in 2013.

The research shows the urgent need for global antibiotic guidelines to be updated to reflect the rapidly evolving rates of AMR.