Sodiq Ojuroungbe Following a new report that revealed an increasing case of antibiotic resistance in Nigerian newborns, a professor of Clinical Microbiology, Comfort Akujobi, has stressed the need for stricter regulations on antibiotic use in animal farming. Akujobi, who is a professor of clinical microbiology at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, noted that antibiotics used as growth enhancers in livestock and aquaculture contribute to the spread of resistant bacteria, which could potentially affect human health, including newborns. A recent study by Gavi discovered that newborn babies in Nigeria are born with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, specifically colistin-resistant bacteria, in their systems.
Gavi, a vaccine alliance, in a post on its official X account, revealed that colistin is one of the last remaining effective antibiotics used to treat life-threatening infections like pneumonia. According to the organisation, the study, conducted between 2015 and 2017, collected samples from 4,907 newborn babies and their mothers in three hospitals in Kano and Abuja. It stated that the results showed that one per cent of the samples had genes conferring colistin resistance across 41 mothers and eight babies, adding that while the percentage may seem low, it is alarming that any babies were carrying colistin-resistant bacteria within their first week of life.
The health body said colistin is rarely used in hospitals and clinics in Nigeria, suggesting that the resi.