Publications by authors named "Anika Van Niekerk"
Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPn) colonizes multiple anatomical sites and is a leading cause of invasive disease and death in African children; however, there is no comparative genomic analysis between colonizing and invasive strains. This study investigated the genomic relatedness of KPn colonizing and invasive isolates in South African infants; and evaluated the relative invasiveness of KPn isolates based on sequence types (ST), capsular (KL), and lipopolysaccharide (O) loci by calculating case-carrier ratios (CCRs). There was less genomic diversity amongst invasive (22 ST, 17 K-loci) than colonizing isolates (31 ST, 29 K-loci), with invasive isolates being 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Research on the contextual drivers of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme interventions in neonatal units is limited.
Methods: As part of a prospective mixed-methods multidisciplinary neonatal AMS (NeoAMS) interventional study in 14 South African hospitals, we applied a three-phased process to assess implementation barriers and contextual drivers experienced by participating health professionals. The study included: (Phase one; P1) a survey of pre-intervention barriers and enablers; (P2) written feedback during the study intervention phase; and (P3) semi-structured exit interviews.
Article Synopsis
- Lack of comprehensive data on congenital disorders (CDs) in South Africa affects resource distribution and detection of risks from harmful pregnancy exposures.
- A study using the Western Cape Pregnancy Exposure Registry analyzed data from 2016 to 2022, finding a confirmed prevalence of major CDs at 7.2 per 1,000 births, which increased to 9.2 when including missed diagnoses.
- Factors such as older maternal age and diabetes raised CD prevalence, while HIV status and other conditions did not significantly impact rates; improving neonatal checks and records could enhance CD detection.
Background: Hospitalized neonates are vulnerable to infection and have high rates of antibiotic utilization.
Methods: Fourteen South African neonatal units (seven public, seven private sector) assembled multidisciplinary teams involving neonatologists, microbiologists, pharmacists, and nurses to implement prospective audit and feedback neonatal antimicrobial stewardship (NeoAMS) interventions. The teams attended seven online training sessions.
Background: Natural history studies have correlated serotype-specific anti-capsular polysaccharide (CPS) IgG in newborns with a reduced risk of group B streptococcal disease. A hexavalent CPS-cross-reactive material 197 glycoconjugate vaccine (GBS6) is being developed as a maternal vaccine to prevent invasive group B streptococcus in young infants.
Methods: In an ongoing phase 2, placebo-controlled trial involving pregnant women, we assessed the safety and immunogenicity of a single dose of various GBS6 formulations and analyzed maternally transferred anti-CPS antibodies.