Date of Award

7-2-2025

Document Type

Doctoral Thesis

First Advisor

Dr. Fiona O'Halloran

Second Advisor

Dr. Lesley Cotter

Third Advisor

Dr. Des Field

Abstract

Neonatal infections, a significant contributor to infant morbidity and mortality worldwide, are predominantly caused by pathogenic bacteria. Globally, bacterial sepsis accounts for 11.3% of neonatal deaths with Group B Streptococcus (GBS) being the leading cause, along with Escherichia coli, and coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS). Neonatal infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria is now a worldwide concern, further increasing mortality rates and associated healthcare costs. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop alternative antimicrobial strategies to combat resistance and/or enhance the efficacy of existing antibiotics. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate alternative antimicrobial strategies for treating and preventing neonatal infections, with a focus on naturally occurring antimicrobials, including proteins, peptides and oligosaccharides.

Access Level

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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