@article {71, title = {Macrolide and Nonmacrolide Resistance with Mass Azithromycin Distribution.}, journal = {N Engl J Med}, volume = {383}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 11 12}, pages = {1941-1950}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Mass distribution of azithromycin to preschool children twice yearly for 2 years has been shown to reduce childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa but at the cost of amplifying macrolide resistance. The effects on the gut resistome, a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance genes in the body, of twice-yearly administration of azithromycin for a longer period are unclear.

METHODS: We investigated the gut resistome of children after they received twice-yearly distributions of azithromycin for 4 years. In the Niger site of the MORDOR trial, we enrolled 30 villages in a concurrent trial in which they were randomly assigned to receive mass distribution of either azithromycin or placebo, offered to all children 1 to 59 months of age every 6 months for 4 years. Rectal swabs were collected at baseline, 36 months, and 48 months for analysis of the participants{\textquoteright} gut resistome. The primary outcome was the ratio of macrolide-resistance determinants in the azithromycin group to those in the placebo group at 48 months.

RESULTS: Over the entire 48-month period, the mean ({\textpm}SD) coverage was 86.6{\textpm}12\% in the villages that received placebo and 83.2{\textpm}16.4\% in the villages that received azithromycin. A total of 3232 samples were collected during the entire trial period; of the samples obtained at the 48-month monitoring visit, 546 samples from 15 villages that received placebo and 504 from 14 villages that received azithromycin were analyzed. Determinants of macrolide resistance were higher in the azithromycin group than in the placebo group: 7.4 times as high (95\% confidence interval [CI], 4.0 to 16.7) at 36 months and 7.5 times as high (95\% CI, 3.8 to 23.1) at 48 months. Continued mass azithromycin distributions also selected for determinants of nonmacrolide resistance, including resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, an antibiotic class prescribed frequently in this region of Africa.

CONCLUSIONS: Among villages assigned to receive mass distributions of azithromycin or placebo twice yearly for 4 years, antibiotic resistance was more common in the villages that received azithromycin than in those that received placebo. This trial showed that mass azithromycin distributions may propagate antibiotic resistance. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02047981.).

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child Mortality, Child, Preschool, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Female, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Humans, Infant, Macrolides, Male, Mass Drug Administration, Metagenome, Niger, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1533-4406}, doi = {10.1056/NEJMoa2002606}, author = {Doan, Thuy and Worden, Lee and Hinterwirth, Armin and Arzika, Ahmed M and Maliki, Ramatou and Abdou, Amza and Zhong, Lina and Chen, Cindi and Cook, Catherine and Lebas, Elodie and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Oldenburg, Catherine E and Chow, Eric D and Porco, Travis C and Lipsitch, Marc and Keenan, Jeremy D and Lietman, Thomas M} } @article {121, title = {Longer-Term Assessment of Azithromycin for Reducing Childhood Mortality in Africa.}, journal = {N Engl J Med}, volume = {380}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jun 06}, pages = {2207-2214}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The MORDOR I trial (Macrolides Oraux pour R{\'e}duire les D{\'e}c{\`e}s avec un Oeil sur la R{\'e}sistance) showed that in Niger, mass administration of azithromycin twice a year for 2 years resulted in 18\% lower postneonatal childhood mortality than administration of placebo. Whether this benefit could increase with each administration or wane owing to antibiotic resistance was unknown.

METHODS: In the Niger component of the MORDOR I trial, we randomly assigned 594 communities to four twice-yearly distributions of either azithromycin or placebo to children 1 to 59 months of age. In MORDOR II, all these communities received two additional open-label azithromycin distributions. All-cause mortality was assessed twice yearly by census workers who were unaware of participants{\textquoteright} original assignments.

RESULTS: In the MORDOR II trial, the mean ({\textpm}SD) azithromycin coverage was 91.3{\textpm}7.2\% in the communities that received twice-yearly azithromycin for the first time (i.e., had received placebo for 2 years in MORDOR I) and 92.0{\textpm}6.6\% in communities that received azithromycin for the third year (i.e., had received azithromycin for 2 years in MORDOR I). In MORDOR II, mortality was 24.0 per 1000 person-years (95\% confidence interval [CI], 22.1 to 26.3) in communities that had originally received placebo in the first year and 23.3 per 1000 person-years (95\% CI, 21.4 to 25.5) in those that had originally received azithromycin in the first year, with no significant difference between groups (P = 0.55). In communities that had originally received placebo, mortality decreased by 13.3\% (95\% CI, 5.8 to 20.2) when the communities received azithromycin (P = 0.007). In communities that had originally received azithromycin and continued receiving it for an additional year, the difference in mortality between the third year and the first 2 years was not significant (-3.6\%; 95\% CI, -12.3 to 4.5; P = 0.50).

CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that the effect of mass administration of azithromycin on childhood mortality in Niger waned in the third year of treatment. Childhood mortality decreased when communities that had originally received placebo received azithromycin. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02047981.).

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child Mortality, Child, Preschool, Drug Administration Schedule, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant Mortality, Male, Mass Drug Administration, Niger}, issn = {1533-4406}, doi = {10.1056/NEJMoa1817213}, author = {Keenan, Jeremy D and Arzika, Ahmed M and Maliki, Ramatou and Boubacar, Nameywa and Elh Adamou, Sanoussi and Moussa Ali, Maria and Cook, Catherine and Lebas, Elodie and Lin, Ying and Ray, Kathryn J and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Doan, Thuy and Oldenburg, Catherine E and Callahan, E Kelly and Emerson, Paul M and Porco, Travis C and Lietman, Thomas M} } @article {56, title = {Azithromycin to Reduce Childhood Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa.}, journal = {N Engl J Med}, volume = {378}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Apr 26}, pages = {1583-1592}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that mass distribution of a broad-spectrum antibiotic agent to preschool children would reduce mortality in areas of sub-Saharan Africa that are currently far from meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

METHODS: In this cluster-randomized trial, we assigned communities in Malawi, Niger, and Tanzania to four twice-yearly mass distributions of either oral azithromycin (approximately 20 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo. Children 1 to 59 months of age were identified in twice-yearly censuses and were offered participation in the trial. Vital status was determined at subsequent censuses. The primary outcome was aggregate all-cause mortality; country-specific rates were assessed in prespecified subgroup analyses.

RESULTS: A total of 1533 communities underwent randomization, 190,238 children were identified in the census at baseline, and 323,302 person-years were monitored. The mean ({\textpm}SD) azithromycin and placebo coverage over the four twice-yearly distributions was 90.4{\textpm}10.4\%. The overall annual mortality rate was 14.6 deaths per 1000 person-years in communities that received azithromycin (9.1 in Malawi, 22.5 in Niger, and 5.4 in Tanzania) and 16.5 deaths per 1000 person-years in communities that received placebo (9.6 in Malawi, 27.5 in Niger, and 5.5 in Tanzania). Mortality was 13.5\% lower overall (95\% confidence interval [CI], 6.7 to 19.8) in communities that received azithromycin than in communities that received placebo (P\<0.001); the rate was 5.7\% lower in Malawi (95\% CI, -9.7 to 18.9), 18.1\% lower in Niger (95\% CI, 10.0 to 25.5), and 3.4\% lower in Tanzania (95\% CI, -21.2 to 23.0). Children in the age group of 1 to 5 months had the greatest effect from azithromycin (24.9\% lower mortality than that with placebo; 95\% CI, 10.6 to 37.0). Serious adverse events occurring within a week after administration of the trial drug or placebo were uncommon, and the rate did not differ significantly between the groups. Evaluation of selection for antibiotic resistance is ongoing.

CONCLUSIONS: Among postneonatal, preschool children in sub-Saharan Africa, childhood mortality was lower in communities randomly assigned to mass distribution of azithromycin than in those assigned to placebo, with the largest effect seen in Niger. Any implementation of a policy of mass distribution would need to strongly consider the potential effect of such a strategy on antibiotic resistance. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; MORDOR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02047981 .).

}, keywords = {Administration, Oral, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child Mortality, Child, Preschool, Communicable Disease Control, Communicable Diseases, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant Mortality, Malawi, Male, Mass Drug Administration, Niger, Public Health, Tanzania}, issn = {1533-4406}, doi = {10.1056/NEJMoa1715474}, author = {Keenan, Jeremy D and Bailey, Robin L and West, Sheila K and Arzika, Ahmed M and Hart, John and Weaver, Jerusha and Kalua, Khumbo and Mrango, Zakayo and Ray, Kathryn J and Cook, Catherine and Lebas, Elodie and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Emerson, Paul M and Porco, Travis C and Lietman, Thomas M} }