@article {1381, title = {Prolonged mass azithromycin distributions and macrolide resistance determinants among preschool children in Niger: A sub-study of a cluster-randomized trial (MORDOR).}, journal = {PLoS Med}, volume = {21}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 May}, pages = {e1004386}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Randomized controlled trials found that twice-yearly mass azithromycin administration (MDA) reduces childhood mortality, presumably by reducing infection burden. World Health Organization (WHO) issued conditional guidelines for mass azithromycin administration in high-mortality settings in sub-Saharan Africa given concerns for antibiotic resistance. While prolonged twice-yearly MDA has been shown to increase antibiotic resistance in small randomized controlled trials, the objective of this study was to determine if macrolide and non-macrolide resistance in the gut increases with the duration of azithromycin MDA in a larger setting.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: The Macrolide Oraux pour R{\'e}duire les D{\'e}c{\`e}s avec un Oeil sur la R{\'e}sistance (MORDOR) study was conducted in Niger from December 2014 to June 2020. It was a cluster-randomized trial of azithromycin (A) versus placebo (P) aimed at evaluating childhood mortality. This is a sub-study in the MORDOR trial to track changes in antibiotic resistance after prolonged azithromycin MDA. A total of 594 communities were eligible. Children 1 to 59 months in 163 randomly chosen communities were eligible to receive treatment and included in resistance monitoring. Participants, staff, and investigators were masked to treatment allocation. At the conclusion of MORDOR Phase I, by design, all communities received an additional year of twice-yearly azithromycin treatments (Phase II). Thus, at the conclusion of Phase II, the treatment history (1 letter per 6-month period) for the participating communities was either (PP-PP-AA) or (AA-AA-AA). In Phase III, participating communities were then re-randomized to receive either another 3 rounds of azithromycin or placebo, thus resulting in 4 treatment histories: Group 1 (AA-AA-AA-AA-A, N = 51), Group 2 (PP-PP-AA-AA-A, N = 40), Group 3 (AA-AA-AA-PP-P, N = 27), and Group 4 (PP-PP-AA-PP-P, N = 32). Rectal swabs from each child (N = 5,340) were obtained 6 months after the last treatment. Each child contributed 1 rectal swab and these were pooled at the community level, processed for DNA-seq, and analyzed for genetic resistance determinants. The primary prespecified outcome was macrolide resistance determinants in the gut. Secondary outcomes were resistance to beta-lactams and other antibiotic classes. Communities recently randomized to azithromycin (groups 1 and 2) had significantly more macrolide resistance determinants than those recently randomized to placebo (groups 3 and 4) (fold change 2.18, 95\% CI 1.5 to 3.51, Punadj \< 0.001). However, there was no significant increase in macrolide resistance in communities treated 4.5 years (group 1) compared to just the most recent 2.5 years (group 2) (fold change 0.80, 95\% CI 0.50 to 1.00, Padj = 0.010), or between communities that had been treated for 3 years in the past (group 3) versus just 1 year in the past (group 4) (fold change 1.00, 95\% CI 0.78 to 2.35, Padj = 0.52). We also found no significant differences for beta-lactams or other antibiotic classes. The main limitations of our study were the absence of phenotypic characterization of resistance, no complete placebo arm, and no monitoring outside of Niger limiting generalizability.

CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed that mass azithromycin distribution for childhood mortality among preschool children in Niger increased macrolide resistance determinants in the gut but that resistance may plateau after 2 to 3 years of treatment. Co-selection to other classes needs to be monitored.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02047981 https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02047981.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child Mortality, Child, Preschool, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Female, Humans, Infant, Macrolides, Male, Mass Drug Administration, Niger}, issn = {1549-1676}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pmed.1004386}, author = {Arzika, Ahmed M and Abdou, Amza and Maliki, Ramatou and Beido, Nassirou and Kadri, Boubacar and Harouna, Abdoul N and Galo, Abdoul N and Alio, Mankara K and Lebas, Elodie and Oldenburg, Catherine E and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Chen, Cindi and Zhong, Lina and Zhou, Zhaoxia and Yan, Daisy and Hinterwirth, Armin and Keenan, Jeremy D and Porco, Travis C and Lietman, Thomas M and Doan, Thuy} } @article {1031, title = {Gut Resistome after Antibiotics among Children with Uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition: A Randomized Controlled Trial.}, journal = {Am J Trop Med Hyg}, volume = {107}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Jul 13}, pages = {59-64}, abstract = {

A broad-spectrum antibiotic, typically amoxicillin, is included in many country guidelines as part of the management of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children without overt clinical symptoms of infection. Alternative antibiotics may be beneficial for children with SAM without increasing selection for beta-lactam resistance. We conducted a 1:1 randomized controlled trial of single dose azithromycin versus a 7-day course of amoxicillin for SAM. Children 6-59 months of age with uncomplicated SAM (mid-upper arm circumference \< 11.5 cm and/or weight-for-height Z-score \< -3) were enrolled in Boromo District, Burkina Faso, from June through October 2020. Rectal swabs were collected at baseline and 8 weeks after treatment and processed using DNA-Seq. We compared the resistome at the class level in children randomized to azithromycin compared with amoxicillin. We found no evidence of a difference in the distribution of genetic antibiotic resistance determinants to any antibiotic class 8 weeks after treatment. There was no difference in genetic macrolide resistance determinants (65\% azithromycin, 65\% placebo, odds ratio, OR, 1.00, 95\% confidence interval, CI, 0.43-2.34) or beta-lactam resistance determinants (82\% azithromycin, 83\% amoxicillin, OR 0.94, 95\% CI, 0.33-2.68) at 8 weeks. Although presence of genetic antibiotic resistance determinants to macrolides and beta-lactams was common, we found no evidence of a difference in the gut resistome 8 weeks after treatment. If there are earlier effects of antibiotics on selection for genetic antibiotic resistance determinants, the resistome may normalize by 8 weeks.

}, keywords = {Amoxicillin, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Humans, Macrolides, Severe Acute Malnutrition}, issn = {1476-1645}, doi = {10.4269/ajtmh.22-0007}, author = {Oldenburg, Catherine E and Hinterwirth, Armin and Ourohir{\'e}, Millogo and Dah, Clarisse and Ou{\'e}draogo, Moussa and Sie, Ali and Boudo, Valentin and Chen, Cindi and Ruder, Kevin and Zhong, Lina and Lebas, Elodie and Nyatigo, Fanice and Arnold, Benjamin F and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Doan, Thuy} } @article {911, title = {Age-based targeting of biannual azithromycin distribution for child survival in Niger: an adaptive cluster-randomized trial protocol (AVENIR).}, journal = {BMC Public Health}, volume = {21}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 04 29}, pages = {822}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Biannual distribution of azithromycin to children 1-59 months old reduced mortality by 14\% in a cluster-randomized trial. The World Health Organization has proposed targeting this intervention to the subgroup of children 1-11 months old to reduce selection for antimicrobial resistance. Here, we describe a trial designed to determine the impact of age-based targeting of biannual azithromycin on mortality and antimicrobial resistance.

METHODS: AVENIR is a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked, response-adaptive large simple trial in Niger. During the 2.5-year study period, 3350 communities are targeted for enrollment. In the first year, communities in the Dosso region will be randomized 1:1:1 to 1) azithromycin 1-11: biannual azithromycin to children 1-11 months old with placebo to children 12-59 months old, 2) azithromycin 1-59: biannual azithromycin to children 1-59 months old, or 3) placebo: biannual placebo to children 1-59 months old. Regions enrolled after the first year will be randomized with an updated allocation based on the probability of mortality in children 1-59 months in each arm during the preceding study period. A biannual door-to-door census will be conducted to enumerate the population, distribute azithromycin and placebo, and monitor vital status. Primary mortality outcomes are defined as all-cause mortality rate (deaths per 1000 person-years) after 2.5 years from the first enrollment in 1) children 1-59 months old comparing the azithromycin 1-59 and placebo arms, 2) children 1-11 months old comparing the azithromycin 1-11 and placebo arm, and 3) children 12-59 months in the azithromycin 1-11 and azithromycin 1-59 arms. In the Dosso region, 50 communities from each arm will be followed to monitor antimicrobial resistance. Primary resistance outcomes will be assessed after 2 years of distributions and include 1) prevalence of genetic determinants of macrolide resistance in nasopharyngeal samples from children 1-59 months old, and 2) load of genetic determinants of macrolide resistance in rectal samples from children 1-59 months old.

DISCUSSION: As high-mortality settings consider this intervention, the results of this trial will provide evidence to support programmatic and policy decision-making on age-based strategies for azithromycin distribution to promote child survival.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered on January 13, 2020 (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04224987 ).

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child, Child, Preschool, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Humans, Infant, Macrolides, Mass Drug Administration, Niger, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic}, issn = {1471-2458}, doi = {10.1186/s12889-021-10824-7}, author = {O{\textquoteright}Brien, Kieran S and Arzika, Ahmed M and Amza, Abdou and Maliki, Ramatou and Ousmane, Sani and Kadri, Boubacar and Nassirou, Beido and Mankara, Alio Karamba and Harouna, Abdoul Naser and Colby, Emily and Lebas, Elodie and Liu, Zijun and Le, Victoria and Nguyen, William and Keenan, Jeremy D and Oldenburg, Catherine E and Porco, Travis C and Doan, Thuy and Arnold, Benjamin F and Lietman, Thomas M} } @article {46, title = {Azithromycin for severe COVID-19.}, journal = {Lancet}, volume = {396}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 10 03}, pages = {936-937}, keywords = {Azithromycin, Betacoronavirus, Brazil, Coronavirus Infections, COVID-19, Humans, Pandemics, Pneumonia, Viral, SARS-CoV-2, Standard of Care}, issn = {1474-547X}, doi = {10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31863-8}, author = {Oldenburg, Catherine E and Doan, Thuy} } @article {171, title = {Gut Resistome After Oral Antibiotics in Preschool Children in Burkina Faso: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.}, journal = {Clin Infect Dis}, volume = {70}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 01 16}, pages = {525-527}, abstract = {

We evaluated the effect of systemic antibiotics (azithromycin, amoxicillin, cotrimoxazole, or placebo) on the gut resistome in children aged 6 to 59 months. Azithromycin and cotrimoxazole led to an increase in macrolide and sulfonamide resistance determinants. Resistome expansion can be induced with a single course of antibiotics.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Burkina Faso, Child, Preschool, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Humans, Infant, Macrolides}, issn = {1537-6591}, doi = {10.1093/cid/ciz455}, author = {Oldenburg, Catherine E and Hinterwirth, Armin and Sie, Ali and Coulibaly, Boubacar and Ouermi, Lucienne and Dah, Clarisse and Tapsoba, Charlemagne and Cummings, Susie L and Zhong, Lina and Chen, Cindi and Sarkar, Samarpita and B{\"a}rnighausen, Till and Lietman, Thomas M and Keenan, Jeremy D and Doan, Thuy} } @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 {206, title = {Rapid Reduction of Species in the Gut Microbiome of Preschool Children after Oral Azithromycin: A Randomized Controlled Trial.}, journal = {Am J Trop Med Hyg}, volume = {103}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 09}, pages = {1266-1269}, abstract = {

has emerged as a potential important cause of childhood morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. Biannual mass azithromycin distribution has previously been shown to reduce all-cause child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in Burkina Faso in which children were randomized in a 1:1 fashion to a 5-day course of azithromycin or placebo to investigate the effect of oral antibiotics on the gut microbiome. We evaluated the changes in the gut microbiome of preschool children treated with azithromycin using metagenomic DNA sequencing. We found that three species were reduced with azithromycin treatment compared with placebo. These results were consistent with other studies that have shown decreases in species after azithromycin treatment, generating the hypothesis that a decrease in may contribute to observations of reduction in mortality following azithromycin distribution.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Burkina Faso, Campylobacter, Campylobacter Infections, Child Mortality, Child, Preschool, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Humans, Infant, Metagenomics, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1476-1645}, doi = {10.4269/ajtmh.19-0940}, author = {Hinterwirth, Armin and Sie, Ali and Coulibaly, Boubacar and Ouermi, Lucienne and Dah, Clarisse and Tapsoba, Charlemagne and Zhong, Lina and Chen, Cindi and Lietman, Thomas M and Keenan, Jeremy D and Doan, Thuy and Oldenburg, Catherine E} } @article {106, title = {Reduction of Coronavirus Burden With Mass Azithromycin Distribution.}, journal = {Clin Infect Dis}, volume = {71}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 11 19}, pages = {2282-2284}, abstract = {

We evaluated the potential antiviral effects of azithromycin on the nasopharyngeal virome of Nigerien children who had received multiple rounds of mass drug administration. We found that the respiratory burden of non-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses was decreased with azithromycin distributions. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT02047981.

}, keywords = {Administration, Oral, Antiviral Agents, Azithromycin, Child, Preschool, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Infections, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Mass Drug Administration, Nasopharynx, Nigeria, Viral Load}, issn = {1537-6591}, doi = {10.1093/cid/ciaa606}, author = {Doan, Thuy and Hinterwirth, Armin and Arzika, Ahmed M and Worden, Lee and Chen, Cindi and Zhong, Lina and Oldenburg, Catherine E and Keenan, Jeremy D and Lietman, Thomas M} } @article {36, title = {Rigorous Randomized Controlled Trial Implementation in the Era of COVID-19.}, journal = {Am J Trop Med Hyg}, volume = {102}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 06}, pages = {1154-1155}, keywords = {Antiviral Agents, Azithromycin, Betacoronavirus, Clinical Laboratory Techniques, Coronavirus Infections, COVID-19, COVID-19 Testing, Drug Repositioning, Humans, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir, Pandemics, Pneumonia, Viral, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Ritonavir, Sample Size, SARS-CoV-2, United States}, issn = {1476-1645}, doi = {10.4269/ajtmh.20-0262}, author = {Oldenburg, Catherine E and Doan, Thuy} } @article {231, title = {A double-masked placebo-controlled trial of azithromycin to prevent child mortality in Burkina Faso, West Africa: Community Health with Azithromycin Trial (CHAT) study protocol.}, journal = {Trials}, volume = {20}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Dec 04}, pages = {675}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Biannual, mass azithromycin distribution has previously been shown to reduce all-cause child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Subgroup analysis suggested that the strongest effects were in the youngest children, leading to the hypothesis that targeting younger age groups might be an effective strategy to prevent mortality. We present the methods of two randomized controlled trials designed to evaluate mass and targeted azithromycin distribution for the prevention of child mortality in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

METHODS/DESIGN: The Child Health with Azithromycin Treatment (CHAT) study consists of two nested, randomized controlled trials. In the first, communities are randomized in a 1:1 fashion to biannual, mass azithromycin distribution or placebo. The primary outcome is under-5 all-cause mortality measured at the community level. In the second, children attending primary healthcare facilities during the first 5-12 weeks of life for a healthy child visit (e.g., for vaccination) are randomized in a 1:1 fashion to a single orally administered dose of azithromycin or placebo. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality measured at 6 months of age. The trial commenced enrollment in August 2019.

DISCUSSION: This study is expected to provide evidence on two health systems delivery approaches (mass and targeted treatment) for azithromycin to prevent all-cause child mortality. The results will inform global and national policies related to azithromycin for the prevention of child mortality.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03676764. Registered on 19 September 2018; prospectively registered pre results.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child Mortality, Child, Preschool, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Infant, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Sample Size}, issn = {1745-6215}, doi = {10.1186/s13063-019-3855-9}, author = {Sie, Ali and Ouattara, Mamadou and Bountogo, Mamadou and Bagagnan, Cheik and Coulibaly, Boubacar and Boudo, Valentin and Lebas, Elodie and Brogdon, Jessica M and Lin, Ying and B{\"a}rnighausen, Till and Porco, Travis C and Doan, Thuy and Lietman, Thomas M and Oldenburg, Catherine E} } @article {151, title = {High-throughput sequencing of pooled samples to determine community-level microbiome diversity.}, journal = {Ann Epidemiol}, volume = {39}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 11}, pages = {63-68}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: Community-level interventions in cluster randomized controlled trials may alter the gut microbiome of individuals. The current method of estimating community diversities uses microbiome data obtained from multiple individual{\textquoteright}s specimens. Here we propose randomly pooling a number of microbiome samples from the same community into one sample before sequencing to estimate community-level microbiome diversity.

METHODS: We design and analyze an experiment to compare community microbiome diversity (gamma-diversity) estimates derived from 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 1) individually sequenced specimens vs. 2) pooled specimens collected from a community. Pool sizes of 10, 20, and 40 are considered. We then compare the gamma-estimates using Pearson{\textquoteright}s correlation as well as using Bland and Altman agreement analysis for three established diversity indices including richness, Simpson{\textquoteright}s and Shannon{\textquoteright}s.

RESULTS: The gamma-diversity estimates are highly correlated, with most being statistically significant. All correlations between all three diversity estimates are significant in the 10-pooled data. Pools comprising 40 specimens are closest to the line of agreement, but all pooled samples and individual samples fall within the 95\% limits of agreement.

CONCLUSIONS: Pooling microbiome samples before DNA amplification and metagenomics sequencing to estimate community-level diversity is a viable measure to consider in population-level association research studies.

}, keywords = {Administration, Oral, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Bacteria, Biodiversity, Child, Preschool, Female, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Gastrointestinal Tract, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Metagenomics, Microbiota, Niger, Placebos, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1873-2585}, doi = {10.1016/j.annepidem.2019.09.002}, author = {Ray, Kathryn J and Cotter, Sun Y and Arzika, Ahmed M and Kim, Jessica and Boubacar, Nameywa and Zhou, Zhaoxia and Zhong, Lina and Porco, Travis C and Keenan, Jeremy D and Lietman, Thomas M and Doan, Thuy} } @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 {141, title = {Macrolide Resistance and Longer-Term Assessment of Azithromycin in MORDOR I. Reply.}, journal = {N Engl J Med}, volume = {381}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 11 28}, pages = {2184-2185}, keywords = {Africa, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child Mortality, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Macrolides}, issn = {1533-4406}, doi = {10.1056/NEJMc1910014}, author = {Lietman, Thomas M and Doan, Thuy and Keenan, Jeremy D} } @article {136, title = {Macrolide Resistance in MORDOR I - A Cluster-Randomized Trial in Niger.}, journal = {N Engl J Med}, volume = {380}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jun 06}, pages = {2271-2273}, keywords = {Administration, Oral, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Child, Preschool, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Humans, Infant, Macrolides, Niger, Pneumococcal Infections, Streptococcus pneumoniae}, issn = {1533-4406}, doi = {10.1056/NEJMc1901535}, author = {Doan, Thuy and Arzika, Ahmed M and Hinterwirth, Armin and Maliki, Ramatou and Zhong, Lina and Cummings, Susie and Sarkar, Samarpita and Chen, Cindi and Porco, Travis C and Keenan, Jeremy D and Lietman, Thomas M} } @article {131, title = {Neonatal azithromycin administration to prevent infant mortality: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.}, journal = {BMJ Open}, volume = {9}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 09 04}, pages = {e031162}, abstract = {

INTRODUCTION: Biannual mass azithromycin distribution to children aged 1-59 months has been shown to reduce all-cause mortality. Children under 28 days of age were not treated in studies evaluating mass azithromycin distribution for child mortality due to concerns related to infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS). Here, we report the design of a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of administration of a single dose of oral azithromycin during the neonatal period.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The (NAITRE) study is a double-masked randomised placebo-controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of a single dose of azithromycin (20 mg/kg) for the prevention of child mortality. Newborns (n=21 712) aged 8-27 days weighing at least 2500 g are 1:1 randomised to a single, directly observed, oral dose of azithromycin or matching placebo. Participants are followed weekly for 3 weeks after treatment to screen for adverse events, including IHPS. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality at the 6-month study visit.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at the University of California, San Francisco in San Francisco, USA (Protocol $\#$18-25027) and the Comit{\'e} National d{\textquoteright}Ethique pour la Recherche in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (Protocol $\#$2018-10-123). The findings of this trial will be presented at local, regional and international meetings and published in open access peer-reviewed journals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03682653; Pre-results.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Body Size, Body Weight, Child Development, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Infant, Infant Mortality, Infant, Newborn, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic}, issn = {2044-6055}, doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031162}, author = {Sie, Ali and Bountogo, Mamadou and Nebie, Eric and Ouattara, Mamadou and Coulibaly, Boubacar and Bagagnan, Cheik and Zabre, Pascal and Lebas, Elodie and Brogdon, Jessica and Godwin, William W and Lin, Ying and Porco, Travis and Doan, Thuy and Lietman, Thomas M and Oldenburg, Catherine E} } @article {226, title = {Diversity of Chlamydia trachomatis in Trachoma-Hyperendemic Communities Treated With Azithromycin.}, journal = {Am J Epidemiol}, volume = {187}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 09 01}, pages = {1840-1845}, abstract = {

Prior studies have theorized that low chlamydial genetic diversity following mass azithromycin treatments for trachoma may create a population bottleneck that prevents the return of infection, but little empirical evidence exists to support this hypothesis. In this study, a single mass azithromycin distribution was administered to 21 communities in the Gurage Zone of Ethiopia in 2003. All children aged 1-5 years had conjunctival swabs performed before treatment and 2 and 6 months after treatment. All swabs positive for Chlamydia trachomatis at 2 months underwent typing of the gene encoding the major outer membrane protein (ompA) of C. trachomatis, as did the same number of swabs per community from the pretreatment and 6-month visits. Diversity of ompA types, expressed as the reciprocal of Simpson{\textquoteright}s index, was calculated for each community. In total, 15 ompA types belonging to the A and B genovars were identified. The mean diversity was 2.11 (95\% confidence interval: 1.79, 2.43) before treatment and 2.16 (95\% confidence interval: 1.76, 2.55) 2 months after treatment (P = 0.78, paired t test). Diversity of ompA was not associated with the prevalence of ocular chlamydia (P = 0.76) and did not predict subsequent changes in the prevalence of ocular chlamydia (P = 0.32). This study found no evidence to support the theory that ompA diversity is associated with transmission of ocular chlamydia.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins, Chlamydia trachomatis, Genetic Variation, Humans, Trachoma}, issn = {1476-6256}, doi = {10.1093/aje/kwy071}, author = {Chin, Stephanie A and Morberg, Daniel P and Alemayehu, Wondu and Melese, Muluken and Lakew, Takele and Chen, Michael C and Zhou, Zhaoxia and Doan, Thuy and Cevallos, Vicky and Lietman, Thomas M and Keenan, Jeremy D} } @article {276, title = {Gut Microbial Diversity in Antibiotic-Naive Children After Systemic Antibiotic Exposure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.}, journal = {Clin Infect Dis}, volume = {64}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 05 01}, pages = {1147-1153}, abstract = {

Background: Antibiotic exposure can alter the gut microbiome. We evaluate the effects of azithromycin on the gut microbiome diversity of children from an antibiotic-naive community in Niger.

Methods: A population-based sample of 80 children aged 1-60 months in the Dosso region of Niger was randomized to receive a single dose of either oral azithromycin or placebo. Fecal samples were collected immediately before treatment and 5 days after treatment for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The prespecified outcome was α-diversity (inverse Simpson{\textquoteright}s α-diversity index), with secondary outcomes of β and γ Simpson{\textquoteright}s and Shannon{\textquoteright}s diversities.

Results: At 5 days after treatment, 40 children aged 1-60 months were analyzed in the azithromycin-treated group and 40 children in the placebo-treated group. Diversity of the gut microbiome was significantly lower in the treated group (inverse Simpson{\textquoteright}s α-diversity, 5.03; 95\% confidence interval [CI], 4.08-6.14) than in the placebo group (6.91; 95\% CI, 5.82-8.21; P = .03). Similarly, the Shannon{\textquoteright}s α-diversity was lower in the treated group (10.60; 95\% CI, 8.82-12.36) than the placebo group (15.42; 95\% CI, 13.24-17.80; P = .004). Simpson{\textquoteright}s community-level (γ) diversity decreased with azithromycin exposure from 17.72 (95\% CI, 13.80-20.21) to 10.10 (95\% CI, 7.80-11.40; P = .00008), although β-diversity was not significantly reduced (2.56, 95\% CI, 1.88-3.12; to 2.01, 95\% CI, 1.46-2.51; P = .26).

Conclusions: Oral administration of azithromycin definitively decreases the diversity of the gut microbiome of children in an antibiotic-naive community.

Clinical Trials Registration: NCT02048007.

}, keywords = {Administration, Oral, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Azithromycin, Bacteria, Biodiversity, Child, Preschool, Cluster Analysis, DNA, Ribosomal, Female, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Gastrointestinal Tract, Humans, Infant, Male, Niger, Phylogeny, Placebos, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1537-6591}, doi = {10.1093/cid/cix141}, author = {Doan, Thuy and Arzika, Ahmed M and Ray, Kathryn J and Cotter, Sun Y and Kim, Jessica and Maliki, Ramatou and Zhong, Lina and Zhou, Zhaoxia and Porco, Travis C and Vanderschelden, Benjamin and Keenan, Jeremy D and Lietman, Thomas M} }