AMR surveillance in migrants, refugees and displaced populations

Spotlight by Charlene Rodrigues, Head of Clinical and Veterinary Sciences at the AMR Centre, LSHTM. 

Two studies reporting in Eurosurveillance have highlighted the increase in reporting of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in Germany and the Netherlands after March 2022, linked to people who have travelled to, fled, or been medically evacuated from Ukraine. Prior to the war, high prevalence of MDRO was reported through the Ukrainian military and general hospital data from 2014-2021, with 17-84% Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa resistant to third-generation cephalosporins and carbapenems. Alarmingly, over 50% of Acinetobacter species were resistant to carbapenems, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides. High levels of MDRO in bloodstream infections in Ukraine had also been reported to the Central Asian and European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (CAESAR) network in 2021. In many regions/countries including Germany and the Netherlands, MDRO are notifiable through national and regional surveillance to monitor trends and update local, regional and national guidance.

Read more here: AMR surveillance in migrants, refugees and displaced populations | LSHTM