WHO guidelines on bacterial infections in newborns

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have updated their guidelines on managing bacterial infections in newborns. About 1 in 10 newborns develop possible severe bacterial infection during the first month of life and more than 400 000 newborns die from these infections every year.

The current recommendations are that infants up to 2 months old with possible severe bacterial infection are treated in hospital with injectable antibiotics for at least 7 days.  However, in some settings up to 60% of babies with signs of serious bacterial infection do not receive the recommended inpatient treatment because hospitals are not accessible, acceptable or affordable to families.

The new guidelines acknowledge that increasing hospital-based treatment by improving availability and access is essential but that providing effective treatment for young infants with severe infection in alternative health facilities when families do not accept or cannot access referral could save many lives. They include recommendations to treat with a combination of once daily intramuscular antibiotics and oral antibiotics for 7 days and that those with milder illness could be treated with oral antibiotics alone.  The guidelines also highlight the need for  health workers to be trained appropriately, for frontline treatment centres to be accessible to families and have adequate supplies and for there to be close follow-up of the infants after treatment.

Read the new guidelines here

For a summary see here