A Cross-Sectional Study of the Availability of Azithromycin in Local Pharmacies and Associated Antibiotic Resistance in Communities in Kilosa District, Tanzania.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Availability of Azithromycin in Local Pharmacies and Associated Antibiotic Resistance in Communities in Kilosa District, Tanzania. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Mar 25;: Authors: Ansah D, Weaver J, Munoz B, Bloch EM, Coles CL, Lietman T, West S Abstract Mass drug administration (MDA) for trachoma control using azithromycin has generated concern for the development of resistant organisms. However, the contribution from azithromycin available in local pharmacies has not been studied. In Kilosa district, Tanzania, MDA stopped over 4 years ago, and this study sought to determine the availability of azithromycin in local pharmacies and correlate it with azithromycin resistance in children born after MDA. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 644 randomly selected hamlets in Kilosa district, in which the presence of a pharmacy and the availability of azithromycin and erythromycin were determined. In 30 randomly selected hamlets, a random sample of 60 children less than 5 years were tested for azithromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) and Escherichia coli (Ec), from nasopharyngeal and rectal swabs, based on disk diffusion criteria. Only 26.6% of hamlets had a pharmacy. Azithromycin and erythromycin were available in 30.8% and 89.1% of pharmacies closest to the hamlets, respectively. In the 30 communities tested for resistance, the overall prevalence of azithromycin-resistant Spn isolates was 14%. Six...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research