Sepsis and AMR
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest infant death rates, with sepsis being a leading cause. This occurs when the body’s immune system mounts an extreme response to an infection, which can lead to organ failure, then death. In 2017 alone, 2.9 million deaths from sepsis occurred in children younger than five years, many in sub-Saharan Africa.
The main treatment for sepsis is antibiotics. But antibiotic overuse in humans and animals has led to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)- a process where bacteria stop responding to medicines. However, the link between AMR and sepsis is poorly understood in many low-and-middle income countries.
University of Oxford researchers have been working with 12 clinical hospital sites across six countries, including three hospitals in Nigeria (two in Abuja and one in Kano), to better understand the cause and impacts of AMR in sepsis cases. By building capacity and expertise in these locations, the study led to significant reductions in infant mortality.
Key outcomes:
With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the first phase of the study (2015 – 2020) supported new diagnostic tools, recruitment of additional clinical staff, and construction of new laboratories. Staff had access to free blood culture testing, previously unaffordable for most families. This allowed earlier identification of bacterial infections and more appropriate use of antibiotics, critical in settings where AMR is widespread and first-line treatments such as ampicillin and gentamicin often fail. In one hospital, doctors reported an almost 50% decline in infant mortality from around 33% to 17% over the study period.
Read the full story on the University of Oxford website.