Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings: the WARNING call to action

Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or “golden rules,” for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis C antibodies and its co-infection with HIV in rural Cameroon

Abstract Objective To evaluate the prevalence of the co-infection between the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the prevalence of factors associated with HCV transmission in a rural Cameroonian community. Results The mean age of the 174 participants included in the study was 30.3 (standard deviation = 13.26) years (age range 12–77 years). the prevalence of HCV/HIV co-infection was 1.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–5.9]. The prevalence of HCV and HIV were 6.3% (95% CI 2.9–10.3) and 6.9 (95% CI 5.2–11.3), respectively. Histories of scarification (62.1%), multiple sex partners (31.0%) and sexually transmitted diseases (66.1%) were the most common risk factors of HCV transmission in this study

Seroprevalence of Human Herpesvirus-8 in HIV-1 Infected and Uninfected Individuals in Cameroon

We evaluated the prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in 516 plasma samples collected from HIV positive and negative patients from blood banks and urban areas of Cameroon. Among HIV-1 positive samples, HHV-8 seropositivity rate was 61% based on combined reactivity using both ELISA and IFA techniques. HIV negative samples showed 62% seropositivity rate for HHV-8 antibodies. Our results indicate a high HHV-8 prevalence rate in both HIV infected and uninfected individuals in Cameroon

Identification and Genetic Characterization of a Novel CRF22_01A1 Recombinant Form of HIV Type 1 in Cameroon

Cameroon is a country in West Central Africa in which all four groups of HIV-1 (M, N, O, and P), some circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinant forms (URFs) are prevalent. The CRF22 was initially identified through a novel URF strain, 01CM53122, and later defined from two additional sequences; however, the genomic properties of CRF22 have never been demonstrated in detail. In this study, we describe the characterization of five CRF22_01A1 strains, 02CMLT72, 01CM1867LE, 01CM001BBY, 02CM3097MN, and 02CM1917LE, identified in Cameroon without apparent epidemiological links. A typical CRF22_01A1 strain contains five fragments that can be assigned to the CRF01_AE and subsubtype A1 radiations. Forty-eight percent of the genome is classified as CRF01_AE, spanning the entire region of the gag gene, part of the pol gene, and accessory genes as well as the beginning and the end of the env gene and nef gene. Fifty-two percent of the genome is subsubtype A1 including regions mostly in the pol, vif, and env genes. The five CRF22_01A1 viruses formed a deep branch outside the groups of CRF01_AE and displayed similar mosaic structure but were moderately different from the original strain of CRF22_01A1, 01CM53122. Further analysis of the 01CM53122 genome showed that this virus represents a diverse set of mosaic genomes from CRF22_01A1, including a 446-nt segment of 01CM53122 in the env region, but unlike other CRF22 strains, clustered with CRF01_AE rather than the A1 sequence, suggesting that the 01CM53122 strain is a recombinant of CRF22_01A1 and CRF01_AE

Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings : the WARNING call to action

Abstract: Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or "golden rules," for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice

Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings : the WARNING call to action

Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or "golden rules," for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice