London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance is vital for curbing the consequences of AMR and its threat to further exacerbate disparity in global health, especially in the African continent, which has the fastest growing human population.

The MRC Unit The Gambia (MRCG) has dedicated Clinical and Molecular Microbiology laboratories for microbial infection diagnosis and antimicrobial resistance surveillance. To enhance the technical capacity at these facilities for AMR surveillance, the unit purchased a Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight (MALDI-TOF) -VITEK MS and VITEK 2, which are two robust systems for rapid identification of Microorganisms and AMR testing respectively. 

Leading the Clinical Microbiology labs is Mrs Saffiatou Darboe, whose MPhil and other research has generated data on genomic diversity and antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella and E. coli in human disease. Leaning on the MRCG state-of-the-art laboratories for molecular diagnostics and next generation sequencing, Saffiatou and two other local female scientists, Dr Uduak Okomo and Mrs Peggy Estelle Tientcheu explore molecular and genomic tools to refine AMR surveillance in Gambia and the West African Subregion. 

Dr Uduak’s genomic characterisation of newborn infections has highlighted the emerging threat of previously unreported strains of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Mrs Tientcheu, leads research within the MRCG - WHO Collaborating Centre for New Vaccines Surveillance (WHO CC - NVS), also known as the WHO Regional Reference Laboratory (WHO-RRL) for Paediatric Bacterial Meningitis and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (PBM-VPD) Surveillance in West and Central Africa. She combines phenotyping and genomics to describe Phylogeography and resistome of pneumococcal meningitis in West Africa before and after vaccine introduction.

The quality of the research by these MRCG female AMR leaders is further guaranteed by MRCG’s participation in two main external quality systems for microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing; the UK National External Quality Assessment Services (NEQAS) and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), South Africa. Thanks to the Microbiology and WHOCC platforms, the MRCG is involved in capacity development for AMR in Africa through training of Fleming Scholars. 

With the leadership of these female microbiologists, the MRCG is contributing to the global fight against AMR and open to collaborations to improve policy on antimicrobial therapy, AMR prevention, improving health and saving lives across the world.