Data Challenge - Designing a PCR Test for Detecting Antimicrobial Resistance Markers in Gram-Negative Bacteria in Africa Using Genotypic AMR Data from Multiple Countries

High prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and limited treatment options of gram-negative bacteria (GNB) is a public health concern in globally. Of much concern are K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, and E. coli. These group are under WHO watch list for Research and Development of new diagnostics and therapeutics given are associated with AMR related morbidity and mortality. They are attributed to an average 929,000 deaths to AMR annually with the biggest burden in Africa. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics, inadequate infection prevention and control measures, and poor healthcare infrastructure contributes to emergence and spread of AMR. AMR in Africa is spreading at a high rate yet development of new therapeutics and diagnostics tests is slow. Hence, our goal is to investigate the feasibility of designing affordable molecular PCR tests to detect common (AMR) markers in GNB found in Africa. The high prevalence of AMR in GNB in Africa makes this area a research priority, which will contribute to reducing morbidity and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings. Additionally, developing a more timely, accurate, efficient and cost-effective method of detecting AMR markers could improve patient outcomes, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and help mitigate the development and spread of AMR. This analysis will focus on identifying the most prevalent AMR markers in GNB using data from representative countries in East, North, West and South Africa. Our team is geographically diverse and multi-disciplinary including Lara van der Merwe an In-silico tools developer (South Africa), Dr. Grace Akello, Valerie Tusubira (Data analyst) and Dr. Leus Twinatwine (Policy and Health Systems Strengthening) all from Uganda. Our findings would revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of AMR in African populations, inform on ongoing vaccine and therapeutic development initiatives, inferences from analyzed data will inform clinical practice, national and international policies related to AMR surveillance and control.