The Mérieux Foundation organized scientific workshops from February 28 to March 2 in Lomé, Togo, for project partners and representatives of the AIGHD (Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development) to establish monitoring to analyse the preliminary results of the OASIS project for the development of a surveillance strategy for dealing with antimicrobial resistance.

These workshops were attended by ten or so participants, including Prof. Abdoul-Salam Ouedraogo, Head of the Bacteriology and Virology department at the Souro Sanou university hospital in Burkina Faso, Prof. Mounerou Salou, President of the Cooperation Council at the University of Lomé and head of the AMR reference laboratory, Prof. Constance Schultsz, Medical Microbiologist and Professor of Global Health, Dr. Frank van Leth, Associate Professor in Health Sciences and Vice-Director of the Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute (APH), and Dr. Laurent Raskine, Head of Specialized Biology at the Mérieux Foundation.

The workshops took place over three days at the Hotel Onomo, with the objective of assessing the progress made in the implementation of the OASIS project and discussing the initial results obtained at the human healthcare sites in Burkina Faso and Togo, as summarized by Dr. Laurent Raskine: “[…] The teams working in Burkina Faso and Togo, under the supervision of Prof. Abdoul-Salam Ouedraogo and Prof. Mounerou Salou, have shown the extent of their expertise and the thoroughness of their actions. The project is making progress at a great pace.  This is reflected in the inclusion of patients at the various identified sites and the first results that have now come through. Ways of adding value and future prospects have been discussed at length. This will allow us to demonstrate the part played by teams in Burkina Faso and Togo in a national and regional campaign, enabling this surveillance system to be integrated into the fight against AMR.” 

As an introduction, Dr. Frank van Leth provided an insight into the concept of LQAS (lot quality assurance sampling). This population-based resistance monitoring system is based on the analysis of a samples, and makes it possible to assess the level of resistance of certain bacteria to selected antibiotics. The purpose of this monitoring is to adapt the empirical treatment according to the local resistance rate in order to limit the bacterial selection pressure.

He then provided an insight into the progress of the project. The participants shared updates on each country’s situation. Exchanges and discussions focused on the difficulties of inclusion, the quality of the data collected and result analysis. The workshops also provided an opportunity to visit two new sites, the medico-social center of Adakpame and the Polyclinic Agoè Demakpoe, located on Lomé’s ouskirts.

“The OASIS team has worked very hard to make up for time lost due to the Covid-19 crisis. The workshop has clearly demonstrated that the project is now progressing at full speed and already producing some very interesting results. The team discussed the preliminary results and the consequences, not only for the next stage of the project, but also for the publication and continuation of research,” Dr. Constance Schultsz pointed out.  

Quotes

“The OASIS project is an opportunity to improve our practices in terms of prescribing antibiotics in our community health centers. There is also an innovative dimension to this project, since it provides a method for monitoring antimicrobial resistance based on dynamic LQAS in countries like Burkina Faso and Togo.

The workshop held from February 27 to March 2 in Lomé, Togo, allowed the Burkina Faso and Togo sites to share their experiences of implementing the project and to plan their activities together for achieving the project’s objectives by the end of 2023.” Prof. Abdoul-Salam Ouedraogo

“The OASIS project is an opportunity for low-income countries like Burkina Faso and Togo. This project allows us to experiment with an innovative approach to the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In countries like ours, in which access to bacteriological diagnosis is limited, probabilistic antibiotic therapy is generally the rule for treating patients’ infections. This means that a dynamic AMR surveillance system provides us with motivation to guide this antibiotic therapy.

We would like to thank all the various partners, including the Mérieux Foundation, which has allowed us to be a member of this consortium.’ Prof. Mounerou Salou

‘The OASIS team has worked very hard to make up for time lost due to the Covid-19 crisis. The workshop has clearly demonstrated that the project is now progressing at full speed and already producing some very interesting results. The team discussed the preliminary results and the consequences, not only for the next stage of the project, but also for the publication and continuation of research. The participants are already looking forward to the next meeting when more results will be available.’ Dr. Constance Schultsz  

‘The Togo workshop turned out to be highly productive, since it allowed the team to discuss current progress and future projects. The three days were rich in enthusiastic discussions and scientific debates. All the work carried out by the project partners is invaluable and very much appreciated. This type of workshop is essential for the success of a project and it’s always a pleasure to spend a few days with such excellent partners.’ Dr. Frank van Leth

‘This third OASIS workshop was a real success. The teams working in Burkina Faso and Togo, under the supervision of Prof. Abdoul-Salam Ouedraogo and Prof. Mounerou Salou, have shown the extent of their expertise and the thoroughness of their actions. The project is making progress at a great pace.  This is reflected in the inclusion of patients at the various identified sites and the first results that have now come through. Ways of adding value and future prospects have been discussed at length. This will allow us to demonstrate the part played by teams in Burkina Faso and Togo in a national and regional campaign, enabling this surveillance system to be integrated into the fight against AMR.’ Dr. Laurent Raskine

About the OASIS project

The OASIS project is part of the European JPIAMR (Joint Program Initiative for Antimicrobial Resistance) and is coordinated by the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development. It brings together partners in human and animal healthcare. It aims to develop an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance strategy in a One Health context, developed in Burkina Faso and Togo.