Carbapenem resistance in Neonatal sepsis in Nigeria

Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric age group and eighth leading cause of under-five mortality globally, accounting for more than one million deaths globally. It is one of the three most frequent causes of neonatal death in developing countries, and is a focus of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Number 3.There is rising antibiotics resistance in neonatal sepsis globally including resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics leading to the incidence of Multi-drug (MDR) resistant bacterial pathogen in neonatal sepsis with some of them showing resistance to the Carbarpenems. Carbapenems, among the beta-lactams, are the most effective against Gram-positive and Gram negative bacteria presenting a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. Carbapenems are last resort antibiotics for treating infections due to Gram-negative bacilli, and as such resistance to them is a major public health concern more so when it is being documented among the neonates. This is because there are limited treatment options available for carbapenem resistant bacteria.