A major new study co-authored by CAMRIA researchers—Sabrina John Moyo, Iren Høyland Löhr, Joel Manyahi, Eva Bernhoff, Bjørn Blomberg, and Nina Langeland—has just been published and is now available online.
The trial, titled “Home administration of a multistrain probiotic once per day for 4 weeks to newborn infants in Tanzania (ProRIDE): a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial,” investigated whether a 4-week course of probiotic therapy could reduce the risk of death or hospitalisation among newborns in Tanzania.
Involving 2,000 healthy infants, the study found no significant difference in death or hospitalisation rates between infants given probiotics and those given a placebo over the first 6 months of life. However, the probiotics were safe, with no increase in adverse events and a slight reduction in caregiver-reported gastrointestinal symptoms. Importantly, the study showed a decrease in gut carriage of resistant bacteria in the probiotic-treated group, particularly in those born in hospital.
This large-scale trial fills an important gap in global health research, particularly for low-income settings where infant illness and mortality rates are high.