In a move to increase surveillance data and allow governments to monitor and analyse antimicrobial resistance (AMR), informing healthcare actions and policy change throughout the African region, SeqAfrica, has launched the second phase of its work to expand AMR genomics sequencing in Sub-Saharan Africa.
With a £3.6 million (DKK 31 million) regional grant from the UK government’s Fleming Fund, the consortium led by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) National Food Institute -with regional sequencing centres based in Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Ghana; Institute Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), Senegal; and National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) – Center for Enteric Diseases (NICD-CED), South Africa- will support African countries to strengthen AMR surveillance through the introduction and expansion of whole genome sequencing (WGS) technologies and skills.
The second phase of the project will utilize the antimicrobial resistance surveillance expertise established at regional sequencing centres during Phase 1 to implement pilot surveillance sites. This strategic expansion aims to promote widespread adoption of whole genome sequencing and inform policy interventions.
A 2019 WHO analysis revealed alarming figures: over 1 million deaths linked to bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the African region, with 250,000 deaths directly attributable to AMR. Lower respiratory and intra-abdominal infections accounted for the highest AMR-related fatalities, driven by seven key pathogens responsible for 821,000 resistance-associated deaths.
To combat this growing threat, the Fleming Fund collaborates with global partners to enhance AMR surveillance systems, upgrading laboratory infrastructure, capacity building, and data analysis capabilities.
The SeqAfrica project has made significant strides in Africa, establishing a network of five regional sequencing centers and analyzing 20,000 bacterial genomes, 10,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from 22 African countries. Recently, SeqAfrica-supported data informed healthcare decisions at Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua.
As a consortium partner, NMIMR held an interactive session to share results from the SeqAfrica-supported National AMR surveillance project with healthcare workers at the facility. The session emphasized integrating genomic and phenotypic methods for robust AMR surveillance and explored strategies to combat drug resistance.
In its first phase, SeqAfrica created a series of training programmes which brought together human and animal professionals from over 18 countries resulting in enhanced capacity building, subsequently produced over 25 research publications and informed scientific and policy developments in AMR surveillance.
“SeqAfrica helps African countries build laboratory capacity and reliable data on the extent of antibiotic resistance. The second phase is about democratisation, where we will strengthen the monitoring of AMR and disseminate and anchor data locally. We are setting up local facilities in addition to regional so that AMR and trends in drug resistance can be quickly identified and handled locally”, Prof. Rene S. Hendriksen, Programme Director of SeqAfrica at DTU National Food Institute.
The grant from the Fleming Fund means that antibiotic resistance monitoring can now be extended, and that the data collected can be translated into public health actions driving greater investment in AMR surveillance.
“It will be easier to pave the way for national policies in Africa that mandate the reduction and prevention of antibiotic resistance from building resistance surveillance capacity deep down the surveillance pyramid and the health system; involving general practitioners in countries and sectors”, Prof. Hendriksen remarked.
Source: The Fleming Fund