Emmanuel K. Dogbevi 

Kofi, 38, married with three children, works as a commercial minibus driver known in Ghana as  ‘tro-tro’. He plies along the Accra–Kaneshie route in the Greater Accra region.

One morning he woke up complaining of fever, chills, and general body weakness. When he consulted a physician at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, the doctor who saw him observed a bloodstream infection and prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics, the initial treatments given to patients with suspected severe infections.

Three days after his admission, the doctor recommended blood culture and sensitivity testing at the lab. The result came back as “methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),” a staph infection caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics like methicillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin. This meant his initial treatment was ineffective.

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