Global Cause
In this issue
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Innovative programmatic efforts to stem antibiotic resistance
Framing the issue of antibiotics and bacterial infections within the broader antimicrobial resistance agenda will facilitate programmatic synergy, efficiency and catalyse country level action. This week is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which we are marking at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the focus of the campaign has widened, from antibiotics to antimicrobials, embracing also antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic medication. Antimicrobials are used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when...
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Saving lives with vaccines and antibiotics
The coronavirus pandemic has brought vaccines into sharp focus; but we must not forget their importance in tackling the rise of superbugs. While we count the months until a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is available, it is easy to forget that there are many existing vaccines that play a crucial role in fending off...
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The drug resistance pandemic is already here
COVID-19 has demonstrated addressing a pandemic requires a global coordinated effort, and no country can do it alone. Drug-resistant infections kill at least 700,000 people every year, a number projected to increase exponentially unless resistance is tackled. The consequences of not addressing this ‘silent’ pandemic of drug resistance could result in an unpredictable future, in...
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ECCMID 2020 Programme highlights
The latest findings in infection research, guidelines and experiences The European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) is the world’s premier Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases event that brings together experts to present the latest findings in infection research, guidelines and experiences to an audience of over 13,000 colleagues in 2019. This year,...
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Our campaign partners
The World AMR Congress and Disease Prevention & Control Summit is THE event making great strides in preventing and advancing solutions to combat current and future global health crises and infectious disease outbreaks. The 2024 edition returns with a wider scope, more attendees, and an even bigger ambitions to make a difference. https://bit.ly/46gfG7x
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Why clinical laboratory testing is key to fighting antibiotic resistance
Clinical laboratory experts are using innovative new tests to provide doctors with the insights they need to curb unnecessary antibiotic use. If I asked you what the solution is to the antibiotic resistance crisis, the first thing you might think of is creating new drugs that kill resistant microbes. What you might not realise, though,...
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We are seeing an emergence of antifungal resistance
It was only very recently that the World Health Organization’s global antimicrobial resistance surveillance system has considered emergence of resistance among fungal pathogens [1]. This settled lack of interest is primarily because fungal diseases are generally not transmissible among humans. Nevertheless, fungal pathogens such as Candida and Aspergillus represent a major cause of life-threatening invasive...
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Underuse of antibiotics could be a bigger problem than overuse
700,000 people around the world, who die each year through antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections, would be on the minds of many during this year’s World Antibiotic Awareness Week. AMR is a global health emergency caused by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. If we do not take action, this alarming figure could rise to as...
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Why is AMR such an important global issue?
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest threats we face as a global community that has not yet got the attention it deserves. Antimicrobials are agents that fight diseases in humans, animals and plants and are critical tools for our significant progress in human medicine and veterinary health in the last century. However, the...
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Stewardship programs improve patient outcomes
As an infectious diseases physician, I have come to dread seeing a patient’s condition worsen – and even become life-threatening – due to an infection that would have once been simple to treat. Unfortunately, the rising tide of antibiotic resistance, coupled with insufficient research and development of new antibiotics, is making this devastating scenario more...