Antibiotic resistance: how a pioneering trial is using old drugs to save babies from sepsis

The infection is responsible for 800,000 newborn deaths each year, but clinics in eight countries are working together to find new treatments

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ust a few minutes from the turquoise waters of Kenya’s Kilifi Creek, a world away from the tourists enjoying their time on the estuary, a team of clinicians, technicians and microbiologists is helping to shape a new era of care for newborns.

NeoSep1 is a pioneering clinical trial that aims to identify effective and safe antibiotic combinations to treat sepsis in newborns. One of the centres leading the second phase of this study is the Kemri-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kilifi.

Newborn babies are particularly vulnerable to sepsis, a life-threatening infection, because their underdeveloped immune systems struggle to fight off pathogens. Each year, neonatal sepsis is responsible for an estimated 800,000 deaths worldwide, while in Africa it accounts for 28% of all neonatal deaths.