Antimicrobial resistance is recognised among the world’s most challenging problems. Despite its global spread, Africa, specifically sub-Saharan Africa, is the most affected by this malaise. Poor living conditions and inadequate access to sanitation and potable water supplies are among contributing factors that have influenced a high disease burden on the continent, requiring extensive antimicrobials. Weak health systems and the absence of firm policies further aggravate the problem, as the use of antimicrobials is mostly unregulated. The increasing demand for animal protein to meet the starving populations’ demands has also influenced the use of these antimicrobials, including those banned on other continents, for food animal production. The ripple effect of indiscriminate use in humans and animals is the massive discharge of antimicrobials, their residues, antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms and their associated genes into the environment.
This 14-chapter unique masterpiece presents the AMR problem in African, addressing the various compartments of the One Health – humans, animals, and the environment, to illustrate the need for concerted efforts in the fight against AMR, especially in Africa. Authors from the four cardinal points present diverse aspects of AMR in Africa, starting with behavioural and social drivers of AMR in Africa. Antimicrobial stewardship in an African context is also discussed. AMR in humans is presented through studies on antibiotic-resistant neonates and nontyphoidal Salmonella infections and the clinical relevance of the genetics of viral resistance. Topics on AMR in mastitis, biosecurity in animal farming and the linkage between disinfectants and AMR are discussed. The environmental dimension of AMR is discussed, notably in the aquatic environment, and its implication for aquaculture and irrigation and using nanomaterials to treat polluted waters from such environments are highlighted. Finally, Africa’s rich floral diversity is portrayed as an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to combat AMR. Hopefully, the work presented will spur greater collaboration between scientists, environmental, animal and human health practitioners, the general population, and policymakers to assimilate and implement the One Health approach to combating AMR, rather than working in silos on their various sectors
Table of Content
Preface.- Microbiological safety and antimicrobial resistance in fresh produce production in Africa.- The current status of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes in African aquaculture.- Antibiotic resistance in food animals in Africa: Occurrence, human health risk, socio-economic impact, and mitigation measures.- The era of bacterial genomics in antibiotic research in Africa.- Insights Gained Through Genomics and Metagenomics Resistomes Studies in Africa.- Occurrence and health risks of antimicrobial resistance in African aquatic systems.- Antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in African coastal ecosystems.- Application of nanotechnology for the elimination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from wastewater.- Genetics of viral resistance: clinical relevance and role in future disease outbreaks.- Antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella enterica in Africa.- Antimicrobial resistance patterns of ESKAPE pathogens in humans, animals, and the environment in Africa.- Informal settlements and slums: Sinks and sources of antibiotic resistance in Africa.- Antibiotic resistance pattern of bloodstream infections in neonates.- Natural products in combination with conventional antimicrobial agents – A potential solution to antimicrobial resistance.- Biocidal activity of plant extracts: the case of Algeria.- Interconnection between antibiotic resistance and disinfectant resistance.- Effects of disinfectant resistance in a post antibiotic era in animal production.- Antimicrobial Stewardship in Africa.- Occurrence, human exposure, and health risks of antibiotic resistance in the funeral industry: A Perspective.- Social structures and assemblages of AMR in African settings.- Bibliography.- Index.
About the author
Akebe Luther King Abia (King) is a Professor of Applied and Environmental Microbiologist at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal. He is also the Founder and CEO of the Environmental Research Foundation (ERF). His research focuses on, but is not limited to, antimicrobial resistance in the environment and how this relates to humans and animals through the One Health approach, using culture and molecular techniques, including metagenomics and whole-genome sequencing. He has over 20 years of experience as a microbiologist and is involved in many projects including monitoring water and soil for human pathogens, especially antibiotic-resistant ones, under changing climates. He has published over 80 journal articles, 6 book chapters and 1 book. He has also graduated 7 Ph D, 10 MSc students.
Sabiha Essack is the South African Research Chair (SARCh I) in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal(UKZN). She is a pharmacist by profession and holds the B. Pharm., M. Pharm and Ph D degrees, the latter in Pharmaceutical Microbiology. Sabiha is the Vice Chair of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Antimicrobial Resistance (STAG-AMR), Senior Implementation Research Advisor at the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) in Denmark, member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Joint Programming Initiative on AMR (JPIAMR) and member of the International Pharmacy Federation (FIP) AMR Commission. Her research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of AMR using next generation sequencing and bioinformatics and One Health systems strengthening in the context of AMR.
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