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HIV Exposure and Neonatal Sepsis: A Descriptive Etiological Study

Atuhaire, P; Kyohere, M; Tusubira, V; Davies, HG; Musoke, P; Sekikubo, M; Wamawobe, A; Peacock, J; Doare, KL; PROGRESS Study Author Group, A (2025) HIV Exposure and Neonatal Sepsis: A Descriptive Etiological Study. OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 11. S187-S192. ISSN 2328-8957 https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofae642
SGUL Authors: Le Doare, Kirsty Karampatsas, Konstantinos

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Abstract

Background Low- and middle-income countries lack data on culture-confirmed sepsis in HIV-exposed infants, despite the reported heightened risk of infectious morbidity. This study describes culture-confirmed sepsis and antibiotic resistance patterns among HIV-exposed children in a large etiological cohort study in Kampala, Uganda. Methods This was a prospective birth cohort study based at 2 Ugandan sites, as part of the Progressing Group B Streptococcal Vaccines (PROGRESS) study. Any infant with risk factors, signs, or symptoms of infection presenting before 3 months of age had a blood culture and nasopharyngeal swab taken to determine the etiology of neonatal and young infant sepsis. Results Among 4492 blood cultures, 460 were obtained from HIV-exposed infants. Nine infants (1.9%) had positive blood cultures. The most frequently isolated organisms were Escherichia coli, group B Streptococcus, and Streptococcus viridans, and these organisms demonstrated resistance to the common antibiotics (aminoglycosides, penicillins, and cephalosporins) used for management of suspected sepsis. A higher proportion of the exposed babies died vs HIV-unexposed (15.8 vs 11.2; P = .005). Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 114 infants, with 7.9% positive for at least one virus or bacterium. Conclusions Future work is needed to investigate why mortality among HIV-exposed infants persists despite maternal antiretroviral treatment. Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing concern in this setting.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: PROGRESS Study Author Group, antimicrobial resistance, neonates, HIV exposure, neonatal infection, sepsis
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Infection and Immunity Research Institute (INII)
Journal or Publication Title: OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
ISSN: 2328-8957
Dates:
DateEvent
10 March 2025Published
Publisher License: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Projects:
Project IDFunderFunder ID
OPP1189053Bill and Melinda Gates Foundationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000865
16/136/46National Institute for Health Researchhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000272
17.0018St. George's, University of Londonhttps://doi.org/10.13039/501100004337
Web of Science ID: WOS:001440146900001
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/117315
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofae642

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