Dr. Fikile Mabena

Fikile Mabena is a South African researcher specializing in infectious diseases, with a focus on neonatal and pediatric infections in high-burden settings. Affiliated with leading academic and clinical institutions in South Africa, Mabena’s work integrates clinical investigation, microbiology, and genomic approaches to better understand pathogen transmission, colonization, and disease progression.

Research has centered on multidrug-resistant organisms in neonatal units, particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae and other ESKAPE pathogens. Through genomic sequencing and longitudinal surveillance, Mabena has advanced understanding of the relationship between colonizing and invasive strains, highlighting high-risk lineages and antimicrobial resistance determinants relevant to infection prevention and control strategies.

Contributions also include detailed postmortem and histopathological studies of COVID-19–related deaths in adults and children in South Africa. This work has clarified the interplay between SARS-CoV-2, bacterial co-infections, and comorbidities such as HIV and tuberculosis, strengthening evidence for cause-of-death attribution and informing public health responses in resource-limited contexts.