Antibiotic resistance causing more babies to die of neonatal sepsis, global study reveals

An increasing number of newborn babies with clinically diagnosed sepsis are dying as a result of antibiotic resistance, a new global study has found. 

Since newborns don’t yet have an immune system that can fight off infection when germs enter their body, it can cause infection. Without effective treatment, it can progress to sepsis, a life-threatening illness caused by the body's response to infection. 

Sepsis in newborn babies, called neonatal sepsis, affects up to three million newborns each year and is a major contributor to global mortality in children. Data indicate that these deaths mostly occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and that the number is likely to be even higher.