Many newborns dying due to loss of efficacy of antibiotics against sepsis: Study

Many newborns are dying because the antibiotics used to treat sepsis are losing their effectiveness, according to a global observational study which involved over 3,200 newborn babies suffering from the infection in 11 countries, including India.

The study, conducted from 2018 to 2020 and co-authored by a team of over 80 researchers, found there was high mortality among infants with culture-positive sepsis (almost 1 in 5 across the hospital sites), and a significant burden of antibiotic resistance.

The research, published on Friday in the journal PLOS Medicine, provides a wealth of high-quality data aimed at improving the treatment of newborn babies with sepsis.