Scholarships awarded to 12 participants to complete a 4-module course in antimicrobial resistance in Colombia and Ecuador
Washington, D.C., 02 August 2021 (PAHO/WHO) – 12 professionals from 10 epidemiological surveillance and research institutions in Colombia and Ecuador received a grant to participate in the Structured Operational Research Training Initiative (SORT-IT) to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
This educational scholarship is part of an alliance between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the UNDP/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), sponsored by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by its Department of Health and Social Care, through the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). The scholarship covers the logistical expenses of the course and other related activities to strengthen the research proposals and the resulted publications in peer-reviewed journals.
This initiative seeks to strengthen operational research focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this initiative is to promote the use of the available evidence to expand research on priorities identified in the epidemiological surveillance systems of Colombia and Ecuador to address AMR challenges and strengthen health systems.
Between July 19 and July 31, through the SORT IT virtual platform, modules I and II of the 4-module intensive course were carried out, focused on the development of research protocols, data capture and analysis, as fundamental pillars of operational research. The products of these modules will be presented for approval by research ethics committees at the national, regional, and international levels.
Participants from surveillance and research institutions from Colombia and Ecuador seek to improve strategies to address AMR to strengthen infection surveillance and control programs, consumption and optimization of the use of antimicrobials in humans and animals, and AMR surveillance in important public health infections such as bacteremia and pneumonia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies will also analyze the impact of antibiotic resistance in different microorganisms in animals for human consumption, and food for animal consumption and surface waters that carry resistance genes of interest in global public health.
Through this course, 12 studies will be produced and published in peer-reviewed journals to strengthen surveillance and research under “One Health” approach to address AMR in Colombia and Ecuador.
Selected Research Topics:
| Institution | Research Topic |
|---|---|
| Ministry of health and social protection. Bogota, Colombia. |
Approach to infection prevention and control in 65 hospitals in Colombia - What is the situation in 2020, during COVID-19? |
| Ministry of health and social protection. Bogota, Colombia. |
Profile of the annual consumption of antimicrobials in tertiary hospitals in Colombia 2018 to 2020 |
| Ministry of health and social protection. Bogota, Colombia. | Factors associated with adherence to clinical guidelines in the prescription of amoxicillin for community-acquired pneumonia in children under 5 years of age in outpatient services in Colombia 2017-2019 |
| Orinoquia Regional Hospital. Yopal, Colombia |
Blood cultures and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of bacteria from the WHO priority list in a regional referral Hospital in Colombia. |
Valle del Cauca Health Secretariat, and Del Valle University. Cali, Colombia |
Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Valle del Cauca Colombia. |
| Antioquia University. Medellín, Colombia | Prevalence, serotypes and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella in fecal samples obtained from pigs with suspected salmonellosis analyzed at the University of Antioquia Colombia, 2019-2021 |
Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA). Cundinamarca, Colombia. |
Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles in Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from animal feed in Colombia 2018-2021 |
National Institute of Public Health. Quito, Ecuador. |
Epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from patients in hospital and outpatient services in Ecuador 2018. |
| Monte Sinai General Hospital. Guayaquil, Ecuador. | Bacterial profile, clinical management and treatment outcomes of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia in a general hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador. |
Phytosanitary Regulation and Control Agency - Agrocalidad. Quito Ecuador |
Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Isolated from chicken carcasses in slaughterhouses in Ecuador in 2019. A national cross-sectional cohort study. |
| De las Americas University. Quito, Ecuador. | Phenotypic and molecular determination of Colistin Resistance in E. coli and K. pneumoniae from humans and farm animal feces in Ecuador |
| Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Ambato, Ecuador. | Can isolates of E. coli MDR carrying genes for mobile resistance to colistin be recovered from sewage and its sediments, and contribute as reservoirs of resistance to colistin? |
