Monitoring and managing antibiotic resistance in refugee children

Introduction: The past decade the Middle East and Southeastern Europe have witnessed an enormous movement of refugees due to the Syrian war and conflicts in Asia and Africa. Although carriage of and infections with multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens in refugees have been reported, pediatric data are scarce. Areas covered: MDR bacterial carriage and infections, and MDR-tuberculosis (TB) in refugee children from 2010. Expert commentary: High MDR carriage rates in refugee children are attributed to high pre-civil war MDR rates, war-damaged infrastructure and healthcare systems, and poor hygiene conditions. Currently there are no international guidelines about MDR screening in refugee children. Given the medical importance of MDRs, challenging therapeutics and risk of importation in non/low-endemic countries, we recommend routine screening and contact isolation upon hospitalization of refugees. TB, including MDR-TB, is highly-endemic in many Asian and African countries, however, current data in refugee children are lacking. TB Screening in refugees is widely implemented but there is no consensus on methods and target populations. Coordinated TB detection and treatment, use of rapid molecular tests and drug-susceptibility testing, better access to healthcare, cross border TB care collaboration, and protection from deportation while on treatment should be integrated parts of TB control and prevention.