Africa releases guidelines for antibiotic treatment

An interdisciplinary panel of infectious disease clinicians and public health experts led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) have released a first edition of the African Antibiotic Treatment Guidelines for Common Bacterial Infections and Syndromes. Africa Union (AU) Member States and public health stakeholders have identified the lack of locally developed clinical treatment guidelines that define when to treat infections and what appropriate antimicrobial agents to use as a major barrier to providing quality healthcare and mitigating the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Except for selected diseases, such as HIV, TB, and Malaria, healthcare providers in Africa have traditionally had to use their individual judgment or rely on guidelines developed outside of Africa to guide the treatment of infectious diseases. The African Antibiotic Treatment Guidelines for Common Bacterial Infections and Syndromes aim to fill this gap by providing healthcare workers across the African continent with expert recommendations for antimicrobial selection, dosage, and duration of treatment for common bacterial infections and syndromes among pediatric and adult patient populations.