Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health issue that exacerbates the burden of infectious diseases and healthcare costs. However, the scarcity of national-level AMR data in African countries hampers our understanding of its scale and contributing factors in the region. To gain insights into AMR prevalence in Africa, we collected and analyzed retrospective AMR data from 14 countries. Methods and findings: We estimated bacterial AMR prevalence, defined as the proportion of resistant human isolates tested from antimicrobial susceptibility (AST) data collected retrospectively for 2016–2019 from 205 laboratories across 14 African countries. We generated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for aggregated AMR estimates to account for data quality disparities across countries; the median data quality score was 73.1%, ranging from 56.4% to 80.8%. We assessed 819,584 culture records covering 9,266 pathogen–drug combinations, of which 187,832 (22.9%) were positive cultures with AST results. The most frequently cultured specimens were urine (32.0%) and purulent samples (28.1%), and the most frequently isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli (22.2%) and Staphylococcus aureus (15.0%). Aggregated AMR estimates did not change significantly across the years studied (p > 0.337); however, there were significant variations in AMR prevalence estimates in culture-positive samples across countries, regions, patient departments (inpatient/outpatient), and specimen sources (p < 0.05). Male sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.15; 95% CI [1.09,1.21]; p < 0.0001), ages above 65 (aOR 1.28; 95% CI [1.16–1.41]; p < 0.0001), and inpatient department (aOR 1.24; 95% CI [1.13–1.35]; p < 0.0001) were associated with higher AMR prevalence among culture-positive samples. The lack of routine testing, as reflected in the low data volume from most contributing laboratories, and the absence of patient clinical information, represent significant limitations of this study. Conclusion: Analysis of the largest retrospective AMR dataset in Africa indicates high variability in AMR prevalence across countries, coupled with differences in AMR testing capacities, data quality, and AMR estimates. Gaps in AST practices and inadequate digital infrastructures for data collection and reporting represent barriers to estimating the true AMR burden in the region. These barriers warrant large-scale investments to expand healthcare access and strengthen bacteriology laboratory capacities.

Le Comité National d’Experts Indépendants pour la Vaccination et les Vaccins de Côte d’Ivoire (CNEIV-CI) a inscrit dans son plan de travail de l’année 2015 l’élaboration d’un avis sur l’introduction, à la naissance, d’une dose de vaccin contre l’hépatite virale B dans le calendrier vaccinal du Programme Elargi de Vaccination (PEV). La réalisation de cette tâche a nécessité la mise en place d’un groupe de travail et l’application d’une méthode systématisée. Le groupe a exploité les publications scientifiques portant sur le poids épidémiologique de l’hépatite B en Côte d’Ivoire, le poids de la transmission mère-enfant de l’hépatite B, l’impact de la vaccination à la naissance dans les pays qui ont adopté cette stratégie vaccinale, l’efficacité et l’innocuité du vaccin chez le nouveau-né, le coût-bénéfice de la vaccination à la naissance et la stratégie la plus optimale actuellement en cas d’introduction d’une dose vaccinale à la naissance dans le calendrier vaccinal du PEV. A l’issue de ce travail, le CNEIV-CI a recommandé l’introduction à la naissance d’une dose de vaccin monovalent contre l’hépatite B dans le PEV de routine avec le maintien des trois doses du vaccin pentavalent (DTC-HépB-Hib) à six, 10 et 14 semaines.

Background/objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause community-acquired infections affecting various body sites. The present retrospective study investigated the genetic diversity of 173 isolates (166 clinical, 7 environmental) of P. aeruginosa collected from clinical pathology laboratories in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (2001–2011). Methods: Multiple-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) Analysis (MLVA) using 13 loci was applied to all isolates and compared to published MLVA data. The antibiotics status of the isolates was compiled when available and compared to published profiles. Results: Among 95 isolates analyzed for their antibiotics status, 14 displayed concerning resistance profiles: five multidrug-resistant (MDR) and nine extensively drug-resistant (XDR). MLVA typing revealed a high genetic diversity (>130 genotypes), with many genotypes represented by a single strain. Notably, thirteen clusters (≥4 related isolates) were observed. Some clusters displayed close genetic relatedness to isolates from France, Korea, and well-studied strains (ST560, LES and PA14). Comparative analysis suggested the presence of international high-risk MDR clones (CC233, CC111) in Côte d’Ivoire. Importantly, MLVA clustering revealed a close relationship of CC235-MDR strains with a locally identified cluster (group 9). Conclusions: These findings support MLVA as a reliable and cost-effective tool for low-resource settings, allowing the selection of relevant strains for future whole genome sequence analyses. This approach can improve outbreak investigations and public health interventions aimed at curbing MDR P. aeruginosa transmission within hospitals and at the national level.