Despite neonatal sepsis representing such a major health problem in LMICs, it is still unclear how, when, and where newborn babies acquire life-threatening infections. The samples collected from mothers and neonates were also used to identify the bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The carriage of such ARGs by mothers was also associated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes and neonatal sepsis. Furthermore, the study highlights that better understanding the routes of ARG transmission, including mother-to-child and within the clinical environment, is essential to prevent neonatal sepsis. The full paper, ‘Antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiota of mothers and linked neonates with or without sepsis from low and middle-income countries', is published in Nature Microbiology.
