Antibiotic resistance: how a pioneering trial is using old drugs to save babies from sepsis

Joy Lewa, head nurse at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), and a newborn baby with sepsis. A study found 200 antibiotics are used globally to treat infections, which can worsen resistance. Photograph: Diego Menjíbar Reynés

Just a few minutes from the turquoise waters of Kenya’s Kilifi Creek, a world away from the tourists enjoying their time on the estuary, a team of clinicians, technicians and microbiologists is helping to shape a new era of care for newborns.

NeoSep1 is a pioneering clinical trial that aims to identify effective and safe antibiotic combinations to treat sepsis in newborns. One of the centres leading the second phase of this study is the Kemri-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kilifi.