Prevention of antibiotic resistance by TARGEted Treatment of pneumonia in children

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), such as pneumonia, are a leading cause of death, especially in children below the age of 5. Low and middle-income countries (LMIC) suffer the highest burden of childhood pneumonia. 

Results

In this project, researchers have developed a diagnostic method and device, the modular breath sampler (MBS), to identify the causative pathogen in the lower airways of patients with LRTI. 

In addition, together with their partner in the Czech Republic, the Charles University in Prague (CUP), they developed a method using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to amplify DNA with high specificity to detect 2 of the most important bacterial pathogens. This method is efficient, robust and affordable and therefore easy to apply under resource poor settings, in LMICs. 

Their partner in Tanzania, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), has conducted a clinical study in children (< 5 years of age) with pneumonia. The results have been and will be published in peer-reviewed open access journals.