Antimicrobial resistance containment in Africa: Moving beyond surveillance

• Published in: Biosafety and health 2024-02, Vol.6 (1), p.50-58
• Main Authors: Anyaegbunam, Zikora Kizito Glory, Mba, Ifeanyi Elibe, Doowuese, Yandev, Anyaegbunam, Ngozi J., Mba, Toluwalase, Aina, Fetuata Aminat, Chigor, Vincent Nnamdigadi, Nweze, Emeka Innocent, Eze, Emmanuel A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Africa; Antimicrobial resistance (AMR); Bacteria; One Health; Surveillance; Vaccines
• ISSN: 2590-0536; 2590-0536
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bsheal.2023.12.003

•Infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens pose a significant challenge threatening therapeutic efforts.•Non-medical drivers are significant sources and routes for resistant dissemination.•Overcoming antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires a holistic approach involving different biomaterials, and vaccines are central to achieving this feat.•Heightened surveillance efforts could help to understand circulating bacterial clones of importance in African regions.•Integrating scalable genomics into routine surveillance programs are critical to mitigating AMR. Worldwide, infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens constitute a significant challenge threatening therapeutic efforts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) ranks among the top 10 global public health threats. Organisms with a high rate of multiple host adaptivity, significant genetic diversity (multiple lineages), high virulence factors, and genetic exchange have been isolated from various sources (humans, animals, and the environment) even without exposure to prior antibiotics. Till now, the source of AMR and how resistant clones are selected in the environment remain largely elusive, and potential anthropogenic transmission has been reported in different studies. Various drug-resistant pathogens, lineages, resistant clones, outbreak clusters, plasmid replicates, and genes that play a critical role in resistance dissemination have been identified. Maintenance of certain multidrug-resistant (MDR) determinants has also been shown to enhance or support the propagation of MDR. So far, significant advances have been made in understanding the burden of AMR. However, overcoming AMR requires a holistic approach, as there is no single approach with sufficient precision to curb the threat. While strengthening AMR surveillance efforts is essential, as we have shown, there is also a need to intensify efforts to strengthen therapeutic interventions, especially in priority regions such as Africa. Herein, we discussed the burden of AMR and the dissemination of AMR in humans, animals, and the environment (non-medical drivers). We further delved into the big questions on Africa and discussed how therapeutic interventions involving vaccines and other viable biomaterials could be pivotal in reducing the burden of AMR to the barest minimum.