Tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance in neonates and children: outcomes from the first WHO-convened Paediatric Drug Optimisation exercise for antibiotics

Children and neonates are highly vulnerable to the impact of antimicrobial resistance. Substantial barriers are faced in relation to research and development of antibacterial agents for use in neonates, children, and adolescents aged yonger than 19 years, and focusing finite resources on the most appropriate agents for development and paediatric optimisation is urgently needed. In November and December, 2022, following the successes of previous similar disease-focused exercises, WHO convened the first Paediatric Drug Optimisation (PADO) exercise for antibiotics, aiming to provide a shortlist of antibiotics to be prioritised for paediatric research and development, especially for use in regions with the highest burden of disease attributable to serious bacterial infection. A range of antibiotics with either existing license for children or in clinical development in adults but with little paediatric data were considered, and PADO priority and PADO watch lists were formulated. This Review provides the background and overview of the exercise processes and its outcomes as well as a concise review of the literature supporting decision making. Follow-up actions to implement the outcomes from the PADO for antibiotics process are also summarised. This Review highlights the major beneficial influence the collaborative PADO process can have, both for therapeutic drug class and disease-specific themes, in uniting efforts to ensure children have access to essential medicines across the world.

Impact of climate change and natural disasters on fungal infections

The effects of climate change and natural disasters on fungal pathogens and the risks for fungal diseases remain incompletely understood. In this literature review, we examined how fungi are adapting to an increase in the Earth's temperature and are becoming more thermotolerant, which is enhancing fungal fitness and virulence. Climate change is creating conditions conducive to the emergence of new fungal pathogens and is priming fungi to adapt to previously inhospitable environments, such as polluted habitats and urban areas, leading to the geographical spread of some fungi to traditionally non-endemic areas. Climate change is also contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of natural disasters, which can trigger outbreaks of fungal diseases and increase the spread of fungal pathogens. The populations mostly affected are the socially vulnerable. More awareness, research, funding, and policies on the part of key stakeholders are needed to mitigate the effects of climate change and disaster-related fungal diseases.

Defining access without excess: expanding appropriate use of antibiotics targeting multidrug-resistant organisms

Antimicrobial resistance remains a significant global public health threat. Although development of novel antibiotics can be challenging, several new antibiotics with improved activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms have recently been commercialised. Expanding access to these antibiotics is a global public health priority that should be coupled with improving access to quality diagnostics, health care with adequately trained professionals, and functional antimicrobial stewardship programmes. This comprehensive approach is essential to ensure responsible use of these new antibiotics.

Social determinants of health as drivers of fungal disease

Disparities in social determinants of health (SDOH) play a significant role in causing health inequities globally. The physical environment, including housing and workplace environment, can increase the prevalence and spread of fungal infections. A number of professions are associated with increased fungal infection risk and are associated with low pay, which may be linked to crowded and sub-optimal living conditions, exposure to fungal organisms, lack of access to quality health care, and risk for fungal infection. Those involved and displaced from areas of armed conflict have an increased risk of invasive fungal infections. Lastly, a number of fungal plant pathogens already threaten food security, which will become more problematic with global climate change. Taken together, disparities in SDOH are associated with increased risk for contracting fungal infections. More emphasis needs to be placed on systematic approaches to better understand the impact and reducing the health inequities associated with these disparities.

HIV and fungal priority pathogens

The burden of invasive fungal infections associated with opportunistic fungal pathogens is a persistent challenge, particularly among people with advanced HIV disease. In October, 2022, WHO published the Fungal Priority Pathogens List (FPPL)-the first global effort to systematically prioritise fungal pathogens. Of the 19 pathogens in the WHO FPPL, four opportunistic pathogens in particular cause invasive diseases in people living with HIV: Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma spp, Pneumocystis jirovecii, and Talaromyces marneffei. These four fungal pathogens are major causes of illness and death in people with advanced HIV and overwhelmingly affect those in low-income and middle-income countries. Access to diagnostics, improved surveillance, targeted support for innovation, and an enhanced public health focus on these diseases are needed in the effort to reduce HIV-associated deaths.

The WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) antibiotic book and prevention of antimicrobial resistance

Guidance on the appropriate use of antibiotics for common infections is lacking in many settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently released The WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) antibiotic book which complements the WHO Model list of essential medicines and WHO Model list of essential medicines for children. The book gives specific guidance on the empiric use of antibiotics in the model lists with a strong emphasis on the AWaRe framework, which is centred around the risk of antimicrobial resistance development associated with the use of different antibiotics. Recommendations in the book cover 34 common infections in primary and hospital care both for children and adults. The book also includes a section on the use of the last-resort Reserve antibiotics, whose use should be restricted to very selected cases when an infection is confirmed or suspected to be caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens. The book highlights the use of first-line Access antibiotics or no antibiotic care if this is the safest approach for the patient. Here we present the background behind the development of the AWaRe book and the evidence behind its recommendations. We also outline how the book could be used in different settings to help reach the WHO target of increasing the proportion of global consumption of Access antibiotics to at least 60% of total consumption. The guidance in the book will also more broadly contribute to improving universal health coverage.

The role of bacterial vaccines in the fight against antimicrobial resistance: an analysis of the preclinical and clinical development pipeline

Vaccines can be highly effective tools in combating antimicrobial resistance as they reduce infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic consumption associated with disease. This Review looks at vaccine candidates that are in development against pathogens on the 2017 WHO bacterial priority pathogen list, in addition to Clostridioides difficile and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There were 94 active preclinical vaccine candidates and 61 active development vaccine candidates. We classified the included pathogens into the following four groups: Group A consists of pathogens for which vaccines already exist-ie, Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and M tuberculosis. Group B consists of pathogens with vaccines in advanced clinical development-ie, extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi A, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and C difficile. Group C consists of pathogens with vaccines in early phases of clinical development-ie, enterotoxigenic E coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, non-typhoidal Salmonella, Shigella spp, and Campylobacter spp. Finally, group D includes pathogens with either no candidates in clinical development or low development feasibility-ie, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus, Helicobacter pylori, Enterococcus faecium, and Enterobacter spp. Vaccines are already important tools in reducing antimicrobial resistance and future development will provide further opportunities to optimise the use of vaccines against resistance.

The approach of World Health Organization to articulate the role and assure impact of vaccines against antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global problem and there were an estimated 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR worldwide in 2019. Vaccines can impact AMR by preventing infections and reducing the need for antibiotics which will inadvertently slow the emergence of AMR. Effective infection prevention and control (IPC) has been identified as the cornerstone action to combat AMR by the World Health Assembly and the Global Action plan on AMR. Similarly, the Immunization Agenda 2030 highlights vaccines as critical tools to combat AMR. This article summarizes the strategy of the World Health Organization to understand, articulate and communicate the important role of vaccines in countering AMR. The work is organized around developing a strategy, understanding the pipeline of vaccines in development, articulating the value of vaccines against AMR, and assuring sustainable impact of vaccines at a country level to combat AMR.

Recent advances and challenges in antibacterial drug development

The abstract is not provided being a short comunication / featured article.

Antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance in the COVID-19 era: Perspective from resource-limited settings

The dissemination of COVID-19 around the globe has been followed by an increased consumption of antibiotics. This is related to the concern for bacterial superinfection in COVID-19 patients. The identification of bacterial pathogens is challenging in low and middle income countries (LMIC), as there are no readily-available and cost-effective clinical or biological markers that can effectively discriminate between bacterial and viral infections. Fortunately, faced with the threat of COVID-19 spread, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of antimicrobial stewardship programs, as well as infection prevention and control measures that could help reduce the microbial load and hence circulation of pathogens, with a reduction in dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. These measures should be improved particularly in developing countries. Studies need to be conducted to evaluate the worldwide evolution of antimicrobial resistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, because pathogens do not respect borders. This issue takes on even greater importance in developing countries, where data on resistance patterns are scarce, conditions for infectious pathogen transmission are optimal, and treatment resources are suboptimal.

2034. Standardized Point Prevalence Survey on Antibiotic Use to Inform Antimicrobial Stewardship Strategies in the Caribbean

Background

Inappropriate use of antimicrobials is one of the core contributors to antimicrobial resistance. While hospitals create high selection pressures on bacteria due to the high quantity and broader spectrum of antibiotics used, information on antimicrobial use at the patient level in the Caribbean is sparse. In response, PAHO implemented a standardized WHO methodology to engage national leaderships, build local capacity, and facilitate the use of data to inform antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) in the Caribbean.

Methods

Point prevalence surveys (PPS) were performed in four acute care hospitals in Barbados, Guyana and Saint Lucia between June and July 2018. Medical records of all inpatients were reviewed to collect information on antibiotic use, indications and use of laboratory services (Figure 1). A hospital questionnaire was used to assess hospital infrastructure, policy and practices, and monitoring and feedback systems (Figure 2). Training on PPS methods and electronic data collection tool in REDCap™ were provided to build local capacity and identify potential ASP leaderships. A standardized data validation, analysis and reporting system was built in R to streamline the process. Results and recommendations were disseminated to national authorities and stakeholders to support hospital and national decision-making and training for healthcare providers (Figure 3).

Results

A total of 60 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, and infection control specialists were trained and participated in the PPS. The survey collected records of 816 patients in which 442 (54%) were females and 374 (46%) were males. In total, 356 (44%) patients received 551 antibiotics. Overall, 300 (75%) of 398 indications for antibiotic use were treatment and 72 (18%) were prophylaxis. A higher use of parenteral antibiotics (79%) was observed compared with oral antibiotics (21%). Antibiotic prescribing patterns differed across hospitals. The most commonly used antibiotics were metronidazole (12%) and amoxicillin/clavulanate (11%).

Conclusion

The PPS method provided a feasible and effective way to collect baseline data and identify target areas for interventions. Engaging national leaderships and building local capacity offered a sustainable way in optimizing antimicrobial use in resource-limited settings.

Disclosures

All authors: No reported disclosures.

1656. Klebsiella pneumoniae Antimicrobial Susceptibility to Carbapenems in Latin America Between 2000 and 2014

Background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to carbapenems in Enterobacteriaceae such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPN) is a major global public health concern. Infections caused by these pathogens are associated with high morbidity and mortality and perpetuated by limited safe alternative treatment options. This study aims to describe the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns amongst KPN to the carbapenems Latin America.

Methods

Surveillance laboratory data from 2000 to 2014 were obtained through the ReLAVRA network from 19 countries in Latin America. Longitudinal trends of mean percentage non-susceptibility for the region were conducted and evaluated with a significance level of P < 0.05.

Results

A total of 209,972 and 181,128 KPN isolates were reported from 2000 to 2014 for antibiotic susceptibility to imipenem and meropenem, respectively. From 2000 to 2014 an increasing trend was observed in the reported % KPN NS to imipenem (P < 0.0001) from 0.6% to 11.6% with an average annual percentage increase (AAPI) of 36.3% [95% CI: 39.8%–33%]. (Figure 1). Similarly, the % KPN NS to meropenem increased (P < 0.0001) from 0% in 2000 to 12.3% in 2014 with an AAPI of 49.5% [95% CI: 54%–44.6%] (Figure 2). For both antibiotics, the last 5 years of the timeframe (2010 to 2014) showed the highest rate of increase in NS. NS to carbapenems varied significantly between reporting countries, with the highest % KPN NS to imipenem and meropenem reported by Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru.

Conclusion

The increase in KPN NS to carbapenems observed in Latin America threatens effective treatment of infections caused by this pathogen. The extremely limited treatment options could lead to further increases in morbidity and mortality. Strengthening health systems and core country capacity to identify and deal with these emerging high-risk pathogens and resistance mechanisms, through surveillance is vital to inform public health actions, control measures, mitigate outbreaks and support further development of Public health actions against AMR at country and regional level.

Disclosures

All authors: No reported disclosures.

["One health" approach in the actions to address antimicrobial resistance from a latin american standpoint]

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex epidemiology problem worldwide which calls for a wide and integrated approach such as "One Health." Resistant organisms are present in humans, animals, food, and the environment, and the main impeller of this resistance is the use of antimicrobial agents. The occurrence and propagation of antimicrobial resistance continue incessantly in the world, leaving devastating economic and health consequences behind. In 2015, the WHO, in collaboration with key partners such as the FAO and the OIE, developed the World Action Plan in Antimicrobial Resistance, under the perspective of "One Health." This Plan was endorsed by several countries and seeks collaboration for the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance. This article aims at explaining the scope of the "One Health" approach within the context of antimicrobial resistance, the reason behind its adoption and what is expected from it. One of the main conclusions is the significant lack of knowledge on the selection and propagation of resistant organisms in the environment, with an emphasis on the threats and risks that this represents to human and animal health. Efforts need to be strengthened in order to better define the risks, design interventions, and measure its impact on antimicrobial resistance.

Quantum discontinuity between zero and infinitesimal graviton mass with a Lambda term

We show that the recently demonstrated absence of the usual discontinuity for massive spin 2 with a Lambda term is an artifact of the tree approximation, and that the discontinuity reappears at one loop.