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Combatting antibiotic resistance 2022 | Collections | MSF Science Portal

Resistance to antibiotics is a growing public health crisis, especially in countries with fragile health systems and in regions at war. The World Health Organization has estimated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria caused nearly 1.3 million deaths in 2019, a toll that will increase significantly in the coming years if effective action is not taken.

To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022 (18-24 November) we present a snapshot of MSF’s recent work on responding to this growing threat. Since many humanitarian settings lack laboratory capacity to diagnose these infections, MSF and partners have developed two new technologies with the potential to dramatically expand the availability of accurate diagnosis—allowing clinicians to then tailor antibiotic treatment accordingly. Other work from diverse contexts describes practices and challenges related to optimizing rational antibiotic use within health facilities and communities. Lastly, several studies characterize the patterns and prevalence of antibiotic resistance among MSF patients, from hospitalized neonates in Central African Republic to acute trauma patients in Haiti and Yemen.

Collection Content

Conference Material
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Video

The antibiotic resistance patterns shown in an acute trauma hospital in Aden, Yemen from 2018 to June 2021

Malaeb R, Nagwan Y
2022-06-21 • Epicentre Scientific Day Paris 2022
2022-06-21 • Epicentre Scientific Day Paris 2022
Journal Article
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Research

The challenge of antibiotic resistance in post-war Mosul, Iraq: An analysis of 20 months microbiological samples from a tertiary orthopaedic care centre

M'Aiber S, Maamari K, Williams A, Albakry Z, Taher AQM,  et al.
2022-06-01 • Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance
2022-06-01 • Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance
BACKGROUND
Iraq has suffered unrest and conflicts in the past decades leaving behind a weakened healthcare system. In 2018, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened a tertiary orthopaed...
Conference Material
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Abstract

Integration of an all-in-one bacteriology laboratory (Mini-Lab) in an MSF hospital: evaluation in Carnot, CAR

Langendorf C
2022-06-01 • Epicentre Scientific Day Paris 2022
2022-06-01 • Epicentre Scientific Day Paris 2022
BACKGROUND
The Mini-Lab is a simplified and modular bacteriology laboratory being developed by MSF to improve access to microbiology diagnostics and antibiotic resistance surveillanc...
Journal Article
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Research

When first line treatment of neonatal infection is not enough: blood culture and resistance patterns in neonates requiring second line antibiotic therapy in Bangui, Central African Republic

Nebbioso A, Ogundipe OF, Repetto EC, Mekiedje C, Sanke-Waigana H,  et al.
2021-12-13 • BMC Pediatrics
2021-12-13 • BMC Pediatrics
BACKGROUND
Infectious diseases account for the third most common cause of neonatal deaths. Globally, antibiotic resistance (ABR) has been increasingly challenging neonatal sepsis tre...
Journal Article
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Review

AMR in low-resource settings: Médecins Sans Frontières bridges surveillance gaps by developing a turnkey solution, the Mini-Lab

Ronat JB, Natale A, Kesteman T, Andremont A, Elamin W,  et al.
2021-10-01 • Clinical Microbiology and Infection
2021-10-01 • Clinical Microbiology and Infection
BACKGROUND
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), data related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are often inconsistently collected. Humanitarian, private and non-governmental ...
Journal Article
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Research

Prevalence of MDR bacteria in an acute trauma hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a retrospective analysis from 2012 to 2018

Acma A, Williams A, Repetto EC, Cabral S, Sunyoto T,  et al.
2021-09-06 • JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance
2021-09-06 • JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance
BACKGROUND
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is recognized as an increasing threat to global health. Haiti declared ABR an emerging public health threat in 2018, however, the current surve...
Conference Material
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Abstract

Practices and challenges related to antibiotic use in paediatrics in Niger and Uganda

Langendorf C
2021-06-10 • Epicentre Scientific Day Paris 2021
2021-06-10 • Epicentre Scientific Day Paris 2021
BACKGROUND
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) in children is responsible for high mortality, especially in low-income countries. Strengthening the rational use of antibiotics (ATBs) and imp...
Journal Article
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Research

AI-based mobile application to fight antibiotic resistance

Pascucci M, Royer G, Adamek J, Al Asmar M, Aristizabal D,  et al.
2021-02-19 • Nature Communications
2021-02-19 • Nature Communications
Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat and its development is promoted by antibiotic misuse. While disk diffusion antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST, also called an...
Journal Article
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Review

Behavioural interventions to address rational use of antibiotics in outpatient settings of low‐income and lower‐middle‐income countries

Nair MM, Mahajan R, Burza S, Zeegers MP
2021-01-16 • Tropical Medicine and International Health
2021-01-16 • Tropical Medicine and International Health
OBJECTIVES
To explore the current evidence on interventions to influence antibiotic prescribing behaviour of health professionals in outpatient settings in low‐income and lower‐middl...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Antibiotic resistance in conflict settings: lessons learned in the Middle East

Kanapathipillai R, Malou N, Hopman J, Bowman C, Yousef N,  et al.
2019-04-10 • Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
2019-04-10 • Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has designed context-adapted antibiotic resistance (ABR) responses in countries across the Middle East. There, some health systems have been severely damag...

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World Hand Hygiene Day 2023

World Hand Hygiene Day 2023
"Clean hands, safe care" is the theme of this year's World Hand Hygiene Day. At MSF, we know that Hand Hygiene is the simplest and best way to prevent the transmission of infections in our facilities. This collection features some lessons learned about hand hygiene and infection, prevention, & control (IPC) in MSF projects, especially in resource-constrained environments in the Sahel, and in the era of COVID-19.
The climate crisis and health in humanitarian settings

The climate crisis and health in humanitarian settings
The climate crisis is also a health and humanitarian crisis, disproportionately impacting people in the world’s most climate-sensitive regions—mainly low- and low-middle income countries with the least capacity to respond. MSF and other humanitarian organizations witness the consequences daily. More frequent, intense weather events and a warming planet contribute to food and water scarcity, more severe and widespread disease outbreaks, and more injuries and preventable deaths. They also drive massive population displacement, with over 32 million people fleeing their homes in 2022 alone due to floods, drought, storms and fire—nearly triple the number displaced by violence and conflict. To mark Earth Day 2024 (22 April) we present a cross-section of work by MSF and collaborators, drawing from a range of data sources and from first-hand experience at our medical projects. Emphasizing the urgency of adapting humanitarian operations to the climate crisis, the collection also explores loss and damage through a health lens, proposes policies and practices for creating climate-resilient health organizations, and advocates for embedding fair, just ethics perspectives into humanitarian action and research on climate.
Noma

Noma

Noma, also known as cancrum oris, is a rapidly progressing life-threatening infection that affects the mouth and face. Noma is preventable and easy to treat if addressed in the early reversible stages, but most often deadly if untreated. The disease most commonly affects children who are chronically malnourished or whose immune systems are otherwise compromised. Noma affects an estimated 140,000 children annually. Noma was added to the WHO's list of Neglected Tropical Diseases in 2023. 


MSF is working to discover more about noma. This collection highlights MSF's mixed methods research on treatment outcomes, burden of disease, attitudes towards the disease and other aspects of noma.


For more information on MSF's work on noma, you can also visit https://noma.msf.org/.

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Combatting antibiotic resistance 2022

Combatting antibiotic resistance 2022