Professor at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Aaron Oladipo Aboderin is a Professor of Clinical Microbiology, he is the Deputy Provost of the College of Health Sciences. He is also a Consultant Clinical Microbiologist at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complexes, Ile-Ife, in Nigeria, since 2000; where he also coordinates the Residency Training program for the institution. His Primary focus of his research is on epidemiology of enteric infections, healthcare-associated infections, AMR, and antimicrobial stewardship. He is involved in the training of numerous students and resident doctors in clinical microbiology and has over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Summary of ComBac-Africa Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat for humans, animals and the environment, with the highest mortality and morbidity rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The World Health Organization prioritised several carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria such as Enterobacterales or Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the most critical pathogens with only very limited treatment options. Bacteraemia, sepsis and other severe infections caused by carbapenem-resistant bacteria (CRB) give rise to excess mortality. Yet, the causative pathogens are rarely identified in patients in SSA due to a lack of microbiological diagnostics. The new antibiotics ceftazidime-avibactam, cefiderocol and aztreonam-avibactam are active against some CRB and could significantly reduce morbidity and mortality, but they are not widely available in SSA.
The ComBac-Africa consortium has the overall goal to improve the management of severe infections caused by CRB in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria through the establishment of a needs-adapted diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship programme that provides equitable access to these novel antibiotics for targeted treatment. This will be achieved through (1) provision of high-quality and accurate microbiological diagnostics for prompt and correct identification of causative agents in bacteraemia and other severe infections; (2) a comprehensive One Health assessment of the epidemiology of CRB in humans, animal and environmental specimens; (3) tailored diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, including early outbreak detection and infection prevention measures, to optimise the use of novel antimicrobials; (4) development of clinical algorithms for targeted diagnosis and treatment of infections due to CRB; and (5) establishment of sustainable, equitable and affordable access to ceftazidime-avibactam, cefiderocol and aztreonam-avibactam in SSA together with the pharmaceutical industry and international initiatives Click here to know more. |