New Study Suggests Widespread Antibiotic Treatment for Children Could Save Lives in Sub-Saharan Africa

A recent study indicates that expanding antibiotic treatment to all children under five in sub-Saharan Africa could significantly reduce mortality rates, particularly among infants, Science News reported in an article yesterday.

Conducted in Niger, the research revealed a 17% drop in infant mortality when all children under five received azithromycin, decreasing deaths from 220 to 185 per 10,000 children.

Epidemiologist Thomas Lietman noted that treating older children indirectly benefits younger ones by reducing disease transmission. This finding challenges current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, which limit antibiotic prescriptions to infants aged 1 to 11 months due to concerns about antibiotic resistance.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study advocates for revising these guidelines to include all children under five. Researchers emphasize the need for ongoing monitoring of antibiotic resistance while exploring how long treatment should continue.