Tanzanian study finds newborn infections resisting common antibiotics
At Mwanza's Bugando Medical Centre, a doctor calls for better hygiene, lab testing and careful prescribing.
Mwanza — Newborns in Tanzania face blood infections that are becoming harder to treat because the bacteria behind them resist several common antibiotics, a study at Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza has found.
Dr Delfina Msanga of the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences enrolled 327 newborns with suspected sepsis between January 2023 and May 2024. Laboratory tests confirmed infection in 53 (16.2%). Most were caused by gram-negative bacteria, led by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter.
The bacteria showed high resistance to cephalosporins, aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones. A wider review of 12 Tanzanian hospital studies found resistance to first-line drugs such as ampicillin and gentamicin. Carbapenems still worked against most Klebsiella samples, which Msanga said must be protected by careful use.
Practical steps
- Her team built a quick scoring tool using birth weight and two blood markers. It rarely gave false alarms but missed more than half of infections, so it can only support, not replace, clinical checks.
- She called for stronger hand-washing, sterilising equipment, cleaning, lab capacity and resistance monitoring.
- Parents should seek care at once if a baby feeds poorly, has an abnormal temperature, struggles to breathe or is unusually sleepy, and should never give antibiotics without medical advice.
Source: Daily News (Tanzania) via AllAfrica, 29 October 2026.
