Infection Prevention Network Observes World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week
Infection Prevention Network Observes World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week
The 18-24th of November marks the World Health Organization’s “World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week”. This year's theme is: “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together”. Antimicrobial resistance is, in many ways, a “silent pandemic”,[1] and awareness is a vital step in being prepared.
Antimicrobial resistance is where microbes like bacteria, viruses, and fungi become resistant to antibiotic medications. This resistance can be built in humans or animals treated with antibiotics. Microbes gain resistance through natural selection. After developing resistance, microbes can spread through the population, in healthcare settings or in the broader community.
This resistance leads to infections that cannot be treated with antibiotics and are potentially deadly. This would make surgeries and diseases that are currently easily managed, potentially life-threatening. The innovation of new antibiotics has slowed, and many new antibiotics attack the same pathways as existing ones. This leaves the world with a limited and precious resource not to be misused.
AMR already has far-reaching effects both within Australia and globally. Globally resistant infections caused 4.95 million deaths in 2019.[2] The Australian Medical Association reports that Australian hospitals spend $ 16.8 million yearly on drug-resistant hospital-associated infections[3]. This issue will not pass with time and requires action to prevent further antimicrobial resistance and, ultimately, to reduce preventable deaths.
The Australian government should aim for prevention rather than cure. Reducing the number of infections acquired minimises the use of antibiotics and the chance for bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotic treatments. This can be done using efficacious infection-prevention products and introducing infection-prevention education and protocols.
Highly effective surface wipes can stop and prevent infections altogether, reducing the need for antibiotics. If microbes become resistant, these wipes can stop this drug-resistant infection from spreading through a community or hospital. This is also true of high-grade hand sanitisers, which are especially important for healthcare workers as they move from patient to patient. Not all surface wipes and hand sanitisers have the same efficacy[4], so Australia must use high-quality infection-prevention products.
Air ventilators and purifiers can also be hugely effective in healthcare, aged care, and crowded settings. They can stop the spread of airborne viruses and bacteria, including multidrug-resistant organisms, and can reduce the risk of infection from some diseases by up to 97%[5]. These actions are vital steps in fighting antimicrobial resistance in Australia.
Sources:[1] Antimicrobial resistance: the silent global pandemic | Australian Medical Association (ama.com.au)
[2] Murray, C.J., Ikuta, K.S., Sharara, F., Swetschinski, L., Robles Aguilar, G., Gray, A., Han, C., Bisignano, C., Rao, P., Wool, E., Johnson, S.C., Browne, A.J., Chipeta, M.G., Fell, F., Hackett, S., Haines-Woodhouse, G., Kashef Hamadani, B.H., Kumaran, E.A.P., McManigal, B., … Naghavi, M. (2022). Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet (London, England), 399(10325), 629. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0
[3] Wozniak, T.M., Bailey, E.J., & Graves, N. (2019). Health and economic burden of antimicrobial-resistant infections in Australian hospitals: a population-based model. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 40(3), 320–327. Doi: 10.1017/ICE.2019.2
[4] Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug; 19(15): 9245. Published online 2022 Jul 28. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159245
[5] Indoor Air. 2020 May; 30(3): 422–432. Published online 2020 Jan 16. doi: 10.1111/ina.12639