Background Neonatal deaths now account for 47% of all deaths in children younger than 5 years globally. More than a third of newborn deaths are due to preterm birth complications, which is the leading cause of death. Understanding the causes and factors contributing to neonatal deaths is needed to identify interventions that will reduce mortality. We aimed to establish the major causes of preterm mortality in preterm infants in the first 28 days of life in Ethiopia. Methods We did a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study in five hospitals in Ethiopia. Study participants were preterm infants born in the study hospitals at younger than 37 gestational weeks. Infants whose gestational age could not be reliably estimated and those born as a result of induced abortion were excluded from the study. Data were collected on maternal and obstetric history, clinical maternal and neonatal conditions, and laboratory investigations. For neonates who died of those enrolled, consent was requested from parents for post-mortem examinations (both complete diagnostic autopsy and minimally invasive tissue sampling). An independent panel of experts established the primary and contributory causes of preterm mortality with available data. Findings Between July 1, 2016, to May 31, 2018, 4919 preterm infants were enrolled in the study and 3852 were admitted to neonatal intensive care units. By 28 days of post-natal age, 1109 (29%) of those admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit died. Complete diagnostic autopsy was done in 441 (40%) and minimally invasive tissue sampling in 126 (11%) of the neonatal intensive care unit deaths. The main primary causes of death in the 1109 infants were established as respiratory distress syndrome (502 [45%]); sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis (combined as neonatal infections; 331 [30%]), and asphyxia (151 [14%]). Hypothermia was the most common contributory cause of preterm mortality (770 [69%]). The highest mortality occurred in infants younger than 28 weeks of gestation (89 [86%] of 104), followed by infants aged 28-31 weeks (512 [54%] of 952), 32-34 weeks (349 [18%] of 1975), and 35-36 weeks (159 [8%] of 1888). Interpretation Three conditions accounted for 89% of all deaths among preterm infants in Ethiopia. Scale-up interventions are needed to prevent or treat these conditions. Further research is required to develop effective and affordable interventions to prevent and treat the major causes of preterm death. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Background Sepsis is a major contributor to neonatal mortality, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). WHO advocates ampicillin-gentamicin as first-line therapy for the management of neonatal sepsis. In the BARNARDS observational cohort study of neonatal sepsis and antimicrobial resistance in LMICs, common sepsis pathogens were characterised via whole genome sequencing (WGS) and antimicrobial resistance profiles. In this substudy of BARNARDS, we aimed to assess the use and efficacy of empirical antibiotic therapies commonly used in LMICs for neonatal sepsis.Methods In BARNARDS, consenting mother-neonates aged 0-60 days dyads were enrolled on delivery or neonatal presentation with suspected sepsis at 12 BARNARDS clinical sites in

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Background: Diarrhoeal illness remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children<5 years of age worldwide. In Ethiopia, about 230,000 deaths estimated to occur. Shigella and Salmonella are major causes of gastroenteritis in children and is associated with high resistance levels. Thus, the aims of this study was to isolate and determine susceptibility patterns of Shigella and Salmonella, isolated from under five children with diarrhoea attending at some selected health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A total of 253 children 115 males and 138 females with acute diarrhoea were enrolled. Stool samples were cultured and isolated Shigella and Salmonella species were run for antimicrobial susceptibility testing using disk diffusion method. Results: A total of 190 entropathogens were isolated. Sixty one (24.1%) was E. coli, (9.1%) was Shigella followed by (3.95%) Salmonella and Citrobacter species and 86 (34.0%) was parasites. The overall resistance rates of isolated Shigella and Salmonella spp were high for Ampicillin (95.7%, 80.0%) and Augmentin (91.4%, 80) respectively. However, high sensitivity was observed among both isolates for Ciprofloxacin (91.3%, 100%) and Ceftraxion (91.4%, 100%). More than 87% of Shigella species were multiple resistances (resistance for two or more antibiotics). Whereas, 70.0% for Salmonella species. The prevalence of Shigella species was significantly varied among children with different employment parent's status. Raw meat consumption was an independent predictor variable for exposures of Salmonella infection (P≤0.05). Conclusion: Isolation of high frequency of multidrug resistant Shigella and Salmonella spp. from children in the study area is an alarming for the present situation of emerging drug resistance. However, there is still a chance to use ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone in area of no culture and sensitivity test performed.

Early development of the microbiome has been shown to affect general health and physical development of the infant and, although some studies have been undertaken in high-income countries, there are few studies from low- and middle-income countries. As part of the BARNARDS study, we examined the rectal microbiota of 2,931 neonates (term used up to 60 d) with clinical signs of sepsis and of 15,217 mothers screening for blaCTX-M-15, blaNDM, blaKPC and blaOXA-48-like genes, which were detected in 56.1%, 18.5%, 0% and 4.1% of neonates’ rectal swabs and 47.1%, 4.6%, 0% and 1.6% of mothers’ rectal swabs, respectively. Carbapenemase-positive bacteria were identified by MALDI-TOF MS and showed a high diversity of bacterial species (57 distinct species/genera) which exhibited resistance to most of the antibiotics tested. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae/E. cloacae complex, the most commonly found isolates, were subjected to whole-genome sequencing analysis and revealed close relationships between isolates from different samples, suggesting transmission of bacteria between neonates, and between neonates and mothers. Associations between the carriage of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and healthcare/environmental factors were identified, and the presence of ARGs was a predictor of neonatal sepsis and adverse birth outcomes.