@article {1391, title = {Assessment of spillover of antimicrobial resistance to untreated children 7 to 12 years old after mass drug administration of azithromycin for child survival in Niger: a secondary analysis of the MORDOR cluster-randomized trial.}, journal = {Clin Infect Dis}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 May 13}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The risk of antibiotic resistance is complicated by the potential for spillover effects from one treated population to another. Azithromycin mass drug administration programs report higher rates of antibiotic resistance among treatment arms in targeted groups. This study aims to understand the risk of spillover of antibiotic resistance to non-target groups in these programs.

METHODS: Data was used from a cluster-randomized trial comparing the effect of biannual azithromycin and placebo distribution to children 1-59 months on child mortality. Nasopharyngeal samples from untreated children 7-12 years old were tested for genetic determinants of macrolide resistance (primary outcome) and resistance to other antibiotic classes (secondary outcomes). Linear regression was used to compare the community-level mean difference in prevalence by arm at the 24-month timepoint adjusting for baseline prevalence.

RESULTS: 1,103 children 7-12 years old in 30 communities were included in the analysis (15 azithromycin, 15 placebo). Adjusted mean differences in prevalence of resistance determinants for macrolides, beta-lactams and tetracyclines were 3.4\% (95\% CI -4.1\% to 10.8\%, P-value 0.37), -1.2\% (95\% CI -7.9\% to 5.5\%, P-value 0.72), and -3.3\% (95\% CI -9.5\% to 2.8\%, P-value 0.61), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: We were unable to demonstrate a statistically significant increase in macrolide resistance determinants in untreated groups in an azithromycin mass drug administration program. While the result might be consistent with a small spillover effect, this study was not powered to detect such a small difference. Larger studies are warranted to better understand the potential for spillover effects within these programs.

}, issn = {1537-6591}, doi = {10.1093/cid/ciae267}, author = {Peterson, Brittany and Arzika, Ahmed M and Amza, Abdou and Maliki, Ramatou and Mankara Karamba, Alio and Moussa, Mariama and Kemago, Mariama and Liu, Zijun and Houpt, Eric and Liu, Jie and Pholwat, Suporn and Doan, Thuy and Porco, Travis and Keenan, Jeremy D and Lietman, Thomas M and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S} } @article {1561, title = {Azithromycin to Reduce Mortality - An Adaptive Cluster-Randomized Trial.}, journal = {N Engl J Med}, volume = {391}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 Aug 22}, pages = {699-709}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Twice-yearly mass distribution of azithromycin to children is a promising intervention to reduce childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization recommended restricting distribution to infants 1 to 11 months of age to mitigate antimicrobial resistance, although this more limited treatment had not yet been tested.

METHODS: We randomly assigned rural communities in Niger to four twice-yearly distributions of azithromycin for children 1 to 59 months of age (child azithromycin group), four twice-yearly distributions of azithromycin for infants 1 to 11 months of age and placebo for children 12 to 59 months of age (infant azithromycin group), or placebo for children 1 to 59 months of age. Census workers who were not aware of the group assignments monitored mortality twice yearly over the course of 2 years. We assessed three primary community-level mortality outcomes (deaths per 1000 person-years), each examining a different age group and pairwise group comparison.

RESULTS: A total of 1273 communities were randomly assigned to the child azithromycin group (1229 were included in the analysis), 773 to the infant azithromycin group (751 included in the analysis), and 954 to the placebo group (929 included in the analysis). Among 382,586 children, 419,440 person-years and 5503 deaths were recorded. Lower mortality among children 1 to 59 months of age was observed in the child azithromycin group (11.9 deaths per 1000 person-years; 95\% confidence interval [CI], 11.3 to 12.6) than in the placebo group (13.9 deaths per 1000 person-years; 95\% CI, 13.0 to 14.8) (representing 14\% lower mortality with azithromycin; 95\% CI, 7 to 22; P\<0.001). Mortality among infants 1 to 11 months of age was not significantly lower in the infant azithromycin group (22.3 deaths per 1000 person-years; 95\% CI, 20.0 to 24.7) than in the placebo group (23.9 deaths per 1000 person-years; 95\% CI, 21.6 to 26.2) (representing 6\% lower mortality with azithromycin; 95\% CI, -8 to 19). Five serious adverse events were reported: three in the placebo group, one in the infant azithromycin group, and one in the child azithromycin group.

CONCLUSIONS: Azithromycin distributions to children 1 to 59 months of age significantly reduced mortality and was more effective than treatment of infants 1 to 11 months of age. Antimicrobial resistance must be monitored. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; AVENIR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04224987.).

}, author = {O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Arzika, Ahmed M and Amza, Abdou and Maliki, Ramatou and Aichatou, Bawa and Bello, Ismael Mamane and Beidi, Diallo and Galo, Nasser and Harouna, Naser and Karamba, Alio M and Mahamadou, Sani and Abarchi, Moustapha and Ibrahim, Almou and Lebas, Elodie and Peterson, Brittany and Liu, Zijun and Le, Victoria and Colby, Emily and Doan, Thuy and Keenan, Jeremy D and Oldenburg, Catherine E and Porco, Travis C and Arnold, Benjamin F and Lietman, Thomas M and AVENIR Study Group} }