Scientists conduct study in an effort to combat infant mortality

This new study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has an international team of scientists who are all set to study the causes behind life-threatening sepsis and drug-resistant infections in babies in many countries, including India. And this is all in an effort to combat infant mortality.

Over 80 researchers from 11 countries have met in New Delhi to kick off this study that is part of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership's (GARDP's) broader programme to develop new and improved antibiotic treatments for newborns.

The number of preventable deaths in newborns remains unacceptably high despite significant progress to improve child health globally, including a 50 per cent reduction in child mortality since 1990. Shockingly, neonatal deaths now represent 44 per cent of all deaths in children under the age of five. Also, the estimated 214,000 deaths in newborns are attributable to drug-resistant infections and this study is set to help avoid just that!

"Antibacterial resistance is one of the main barriers to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal to reduce neonatal mortality," said Manica Balasegaram, Director of GARDP. This study is being carried out in hospitals across countries such as India, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, and South Africa, among others.

Sepsis is the body's response to infection and it can be life-threatening and poses a particular threat to newborns as their immune systems are not fully developed. Newborns' susceptibility to sepsis is further compounded by the challenges of diagnosing serious bacterial infections since symptoms and signs can be non-specific and difficult to detect.

The point of this study is to deliver new antibiotic treatments for newborns with drug-resistant bacterial infections.