review · Antibiotics
A systematic review of 48 studies published between 2014 and 2023 outlines the scale of antimicrobial resistance in Ghana across human, animal, and environmental domains. Pathogen analysis reveals 48 distinct bacterial types present across these areas, dominated by Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Pseudomonas species, and Salmonella species. Across all examined sectors, bacteria display widespread resistance to standard treatments, with resistance rates for commonly prescribed drugs such as ampicillin and tetracycline exceeding 80 per cent. Multidrug resistance is also extensive, spanning from 17.6 per cent in Shigella species up to 100 per cent in Acinetobacter species. These distributed patterns highlight substantial resistance pressures across clinical, veterinary, and environmental settings, reinforcing the need for coordinated cross-sector surveillance and interventions to manage bacterial threats effectively.
Antimicrobial resistance undermines standard medical and veterinary treatments, making common infections harder to cure. Because resistant pathogens move freely between people, livestock, and the natural environment, tracking and addressing the problem within isolated sectors is insufficient. Understanding resistance patterns across all three spheres provides public health authorities and practitioners with critical baselines needed to coordinate containment strategies and safeguard essential medicines.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercialisation pathway or development of a specific product. However, the surveillance data could inform diagnostic developers and pharmaceutical companies targeting priority resistant pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter species in West Africa. This represents early-stage baseline research rather than an applied technology, highlighting sectors where new diagnostics, alternative therapeutics, and environmental monitoring tools are most needed.
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Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global health threat, with lower-middle-income countries bearing a disproportionate burden. Surveillance of AMR under a One Health framework is needed to elucidate the associations among clinical, animal, and environmental AMR. This review aimed to describe the state of AMR in Ghana, focusing on One Health. Method: This review utilized the PRISMA guidelines and major databases to systematically search and analyze AMR in Ghana published from 1 January 2014 to 1 May 2023. Results: Out of the 48 articles that met the inclusion criteria, 28 studies were conducted on humans, 14 studies involved animals, and 6 studies focused on the environment. A total of 48 different pathogens were identified across the human, animal, and environmental sectors, with the most common being Escherichia coli (67%, n = 32), Klebsiella spp. (52%, n = 25), Pseudomonas spp. (40%, n = 19), and Salmonella spp. (38%, n = 18). Generally, a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance was observed among various bacterial species across the sectors. These bacteria exhibited resistance to commonly used antibiotics, with resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline exceeding 80%, and multidrug resistance (MDR) ranging from 17.6% in Shigella spp. to 100% in Acinetobacter spp. Conclusion: This review reaffirms the significant challenge of AMR in Ghana, with a high prevalence observed in the human, animal, and environmental sectors. Key pathogens (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) found across the sectors emphasize the urgent need for a One Health approach to tackle AMR in Ghana.
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DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics13070662
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