Antimicrobial resistance in N’Djamena (Chad): Four-year experience of the French Forward Medical and Surgical Team engaged in the “Barkhane Operation”

Objectives

Knowledge of local antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns is required for effective empirical treatment of bacterial diseases. Very little is known about current resistance patterns of common pathogenic bacteria in the African region and particularly in the Sahel region. We aimed to describe the local bacterial epidemiology and to determine whether French recommendations for empirical treatment could be implemented.

Patients and methods

We performed a single-center observational study. Data was collected retrospectively from the Forward Medical and Surgical Center (FFMSC) bacterial database from January 2015 to December 2018. All bacteriological analyses, negative or positive, were included.

Results

A total of 2194 samples were analyzed. Infectious diseases were urinary tract infections (20.8%), bone and joint infections (20.4%), skin infections of chronic wounds (13.4%), soft tissue abscesses (13%), and gastroenteritis (10.8%). The most frequent infections were enterobacterial infections (43.6%) and staphylococcal infections (31.1%). The prevalence of AMR was 32.1%. Significantly more ESBL-producing bacteria (41.3%) were observed in the Chadian population than in the French population in N’djamena (6.3%) (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

We reported a high rate of ESBL-producing bacteria in N’Djamena. The use of empirical antibiotic therapies in the FFMSC may thus be questioned: French recommendations cannot be implemented in such setting and the use of carbapenems or new anti-ESBL antibiotics should be considered. Prospective studies are required to conclude.