A study in selected care homes in the Greater Accra Region has found a high prevalence of drug-resistant urinary pathogens among the Ghanaian elderly.

The findings indicated that the elderly could constitute a significant reservoir of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), particularly among immunocompromised populations.

Assistant Research Scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Water Research Institute (CSIR-WRI), Emmanuel Armah, said the findings were based on nearly three years of surveillance involving about 200 people aged 50 years and above in care facilities for the aged.

He made the disclosure when he presented a paper titled “Candida and Bacterial Infections of the Urinary Tract of the Elderly: Implications for Antimicrobial Stewardship among Residents of Ghanaian Elderly Nursing Care Homes” at the 2026 Mid-Year Review of the Institute in Accra.

Mr Armah said the study assessed antimicrobial resistance among elderly Ghanaians residing in aged-care homes.

He said early-morning urine samples were collected from participants and screened for urinary tract infections using microbial diagnostic tools, while polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the genetic determinants of the uropathogens.

Mr Armah said the project, supported by the Foundation to Prevent Antibiotic Resistance (PAR), had also highlighted concerns about the improper use of antibiotics, self-medication, personal hygiene, and nutrition.

He therefore advised care homes against routine empirical use of antibiotics without microbiological evidence and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST).

Mr Armah also stressed the need for caregivers to adhere to proper hand hygiene practices to help prevent infections.

He said the scientists were working with stakeholders to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance and mitigate its effects on the elderly through education and advocacy.

Medical scientists consider antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a serious threat to healthcare that requires urgent attention.

Day Three of the Mid-Year Review was chaired by Professor Mike Osei-Atweneboana, immediate past director of CSIR-WRI, on the theme "Water-Environment-Food-Health Nexus: Building Resilience for the Future."

Other papers presented included “Plastic on the Menu: Microplastics (MPs) in Aquatic Foods and Coastal Waste in Ghana – From Environmental Contamination to Human Exposure and Policy Action” and “Urban Sanitation Infrastructure Performance, Antimicrobial Realities, and Physicochemical Quality: A Case of the Ashaiman Wastewater Treatment Plant."