How understanding microbiome function could turn the tide on neonatal sepsis

How understanding microbiome function could turn the tide on neonatal sepsis

Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of newborn mortality, with treatment options becoming increasingly ineffective against resistant strains. This article explores the role of the gut bacteria in sepsis susceptibility, arguing that understanding the functional capacities of the microbiome is critical to managing neonatal sepsis. By the time a newborn becomes septic, the bacteria responsible have often been living in that baby for days. The infant gut is a principal reservoir for the organisms that cause neonatal sepsis, and mothers and their newborns share both organisms and antibiotic resistance genes across the first days of life.(1,2) The infection is the final step in a longer process, and almost everything we do clinically happens at that final step. Likely too late.