Infection Prevention Network Welcomes ACSQHC’S Report into Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia
The Infection Prevention Network congratulates the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare on the release of their annual Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) report.
Antimicrobial resistance is when microbes evolve to become resistant to antibiotic medication that previously was an effective treatment. This renders antibiotics obsolete. An inability to treat bacterial and fungal infections has vast implications for healthcare, making even the most trivial surgeries and treatments a danger due to the risk of an untreatable infection.
Antibiotic resistance pathogens can be easily spread from person to person, creating a far-reaching threat to healthcare settings and the broader community.
Last year, 1/3rd of Australians were prescribed antibiotics and 21.8 million prescriptions for antimicrobials were dispensed in the community. And, while Australia’s antimicrobial use in the community has fallen 18% since 2019, there was a 10% increase in antimicrobial use in 2022, driven by strong usage in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria[1]. The OECD estimates that antimicrobial resistance will cost the health systems of the United States, Canada, and Australia a combined total of $74 billion between 2015 and 2050[2].
To reduce antibiotic resistance in Australia, the AURA report notes that there must be more responsible use of Antibiotics. A continued and irresponsible use of antibiotics will lead to further increases in antimicrobial resistance in Australia.
To reduce antimicrobial resistance, Australia should look to prevention rather than cure. The best way to combat harmful bacteria and other microbes is to kill them before they have a chance to infect people. This is most easily achieved by using highly efficacious infection prevention products and procedures.
Sources:[1] safetyandquality.gov.au/aura2023
[2] Australian Commision on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (2023). Antimicrobial use and resistance in Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/aura_2023_fifth_australian_report_on_antimicrobial_use_and_resistance_in_human_health.pdf.