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SUMMARY:Microbiology and bugs in sub-Saharan Africa: elephant in the room?
  (King's/Cambridge-Africa Seminar) - Professor Samuel Kariuki\, Internatio
 nal Fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute\; Director\, Centre for 
 Microbiology Research\, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)\, Nairobi
 \, Kenya
DTSTART:20140506T170000Z
DTEND:20140506T180000Z
UID:TALK50191@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Pauline Essah
DESCRIPTION:Treatable bacterial infections still exert a heavy toll on hum
 an populations\, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where malnutrition\, H
 IV and poor sanitation remain a big challenge. In addition\, the true burd
 en of infections is unknown\, as systematic surveillance is not carried ou
 t routinely. With a number of studies from East Africa showing worrying tr
 ends in multidrug resistance among key enteric and other bacterial pathoge
 ns such as Escherichia coli\, Salmonella spp\, Staphylococcus aureus\, dys
 entery and Vibrio cholerae to nearly all commonly available antibiotics\, 
 it is imperative that this trend should be reversed. Here\, we report data
  on few studies in Kenya and the region to highlight the current issues on
  surveillance\, clinical investigation and management of outbreaks of key 
 enteric and other bacterial pathogens. \n\nMany countries in the region la
 ck a formal surveillance system for infections investigation and reporting
 . Often treatment is given empirically based on clinical diagnosis alone. 
 Availability of antibiotics over the counter without prescription has adde
 d to pressure for emergence and rapid spread of antibiotic resistance. As 
 not all cases particularly in the rural set-ups and poor urban areas end u
 p in the hospital\, there is gross under-reporting. The creation of a stru
 ctured surveillance and reporting system within the Ministries of Health w
 ould be useful in providing data to enhance management strategies in outbr
 eaks. In addition integration into a regional surveillance network would e
 nable us to register trends of outbreaks nationally and within the region.
  \n
LOCATION:Wine Room\, King's College\, Cambridge\, CB2 1ST
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