Blog

Antibiotics save lives, but it is increasingly common for bacteria to become resistant to them. Maarten van Dongen is a molecular and medical microbiologist and founder of AMR Insights, an organization that increases awareness about antimicrobial resistance. He discusses the urgency of this problem and explains how we can combat resistance.

In this blog, Eleanor Kashouris explores the work the concept of AMS is put to and achieves in mobilisations against AMR. 

By Blessing Nkechi Emmanuel Imagine that a pregnant woman who delivered her baby through a cesarean section. The operation went on smoothly and she was later discharged from the hospital, but a few weeks later an infection develops around the surgical wound. This infection poses difficult to treat because it the pathogen involved resists almost […]

By Blessing Nkechi Emmanuel Introduction Given an instance, there was a certain small town in rural America where people lived. A day came when the town was struck by a sudden outbreak of Campylobacter, a bacterial infection that causes severe diarrhea, stomach cramp and fever also known as stomach flu or food poisoning. At first, […]

My name is Oluwatosin Akinwotu and I am a PhD candidate in Environmental Microbiology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, with over 8 years of experience in microbial ecology and Antibiotics Resistance-related research.

The human race has persevered on the planet for millions of years and have become more adapted to its existing environment; however, bacteria have existed a little longer.

My name is Aalaa Afdal, I am from Egypt, and I used to work as a clinical pharmacist in an infectious diseases public hospital. Antimicrobial Stewardship implementation and monitoring is my passion.

This blog by Dr Mariska Kreuger working in Ethiopia is the second blog in a new series by AMR Insights Ambassadors.

This blog by Dr Lawrence Mugisha from Nigeria is the second blog in a new series by AMR Insights Ambassadors.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in Uganda, as it is in many countries around the world.

This blog by Jorge Almeida from Mexico is the first blog in a new series by AMR Insights Ambassadors.

BSAC has launched the Global Stewardship Partnership Hub (GASPH), as Professor Dilip Nathwani, explains.

Interview with Trevor Lithgow, Director Centre to Impact AMR at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

By Ofeh Augustine Seun Introduction Psittacosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydophilia Psittaci formerly known as  Chlamydia psittaci. They are obligate, intracellular, aerobic, gram-negative like organism that is usually coccoid to rod shape morphologically. They have some virus and bacteria characteristics. This infection affects birds Such as pigeons, ducks, parrots, etc […]

The AMR Engagement Group is a new workgroup by and for AMR Insights Ambassadors. This group will focus on education and outreach efforts for children and students around AMR. In this group, experts will have the opportunity to learn from one another, participate in outreach efforts, and lead education with a collaborative spirit.

AMR experts laid the groundwork for a new global consortium dedicated to the research, development and implementation of ‘awareness gaming’ to combat antimicrobial resistance.

This project has dual objectives, determined knowledge, behaviors, actions, assumptions and attitudes regarding antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR in relation to social and economic factors, at the same time increases community’s awareness on AMR and antibiotic use among communities of Nyakahura rural ward in Tanzania.

Guest blog by Andrew Kemp.

Guest blog by Ambassador Gilles Courtemanche Antimicrobial resistance is not only the fear that some antibiotics will not work anymore in 30 years on some bacteria found in places where the vast majority of people are not going and probably will never go during their whole life (war zones, urban slums, remote rural areas of […]

Lees de nieuwe Planet Health die geheel gewijd is aan het onderwerp Antimicrobiële resistentie!

Amongst low and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, AMR is particularly challenging due to the extreme poverty and poor socio-economic circumstances exacerbating sickness and disease.

With over a million deaths globally,1 the health, economic and societal impact of COVID-19 has been devastating. The pandemic response has, however, spotlighted areas in healthcare and infection prevention that can be amplified to help avert the silent antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pandemic.

In a recent podcast made by Marita Mitrović-Lin, Officer for Innovation, Science and Technology of the Netherlands Innovation Network at the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai, three remarkable approaches by Dutch entrepreneurs and scientists to add to the global curbing of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were highlighted.

The very first International Masterclass AMR on29 SEP was a great succes. Time to thank the contributing International Experts and the Advisory Board!

Listen or read the text of this podcast and learn how the AMR Insights Ambassador connects continents in curbing AMR.

India is facing a major public health crisis, with widespread antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reported in humans, animals, and the environment.

If the current antibiotics being used are no longer effective, then even minor infections such as a skin wound could cause death.

Antibiotics have never been more vulnerable to drug-resistant bacteria and with rates of resistance to some antibiotic-bacterium combinations rising to 80-90% in some LMICs, urgent attention is now needed for sustained, infection prevention across all settings, both healthcare and in the community, to contain AMR.

Poor hygiene and sanitation not only increase the risk of infections such as respiratory tract and diarrheal illness leading to unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions but also facilitate spread of AMR.

Mabel Aworh is an Epidemiologist with a decade of experience in veterinary epidemiology, public health, research and leadership.

Investors will be encouraged to assess and integrate risks, opportunities and impacts related to antimicrobial resistance (applying an antimicrobial resistance and One Health “lens”) when making investment decisions and engaging with investee companies.

The causal relationship between inappropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance is well established in both hospital and community settings. We thus call on all AMR Insights Ambassadors and other healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients to implement diagnostic stewardship/microbial diagnostics and exercise prudence in prescribing antibiotics for risk of the collateral damage of escalating antibiotic resistance by undue selection pressure of inappropriate antibiotic use.

“The corana virus infections should subside if not disappear, but both know that drug resistant pathogens are getting stronger. They don’t blow whistles and they are more sneaky than viruses”.

Antibiotic resistance anywhere is antibiotic resistance everywhere states Debra Goff PharmD. a Global Antibiotic Stewardship expert, Professor of Pharmacy and Infectious Diseases clinical pharmacist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus OH USA.

I am currently a Senior Microbiologist, Project and Team Leader in Antibacterials, Severe Bacterial Infections Cluster and Bacteriomics Platform at Evotec ID in Lyon, France. My path towards becoming a foot soldier working on the AMR front line developed as follows.

Jeroen Dewulf graduated as a veterinarian and currently works as full professor in Veterinary Epidemiology at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Ghent University in Belgium.

Dr. Amine Zorgani is Head of Microbiology and team leader at Nuritas in Ireland. He leads a team of experienced Microbiologists to uncover the potential bioactivities of plant-derived peptides. Ireland-based Nuritas uses artificial intelligence to predict bioactive peptides from plant genomes to target several (ESKAPE) human pathogens and food spoiling microbes.

My name is Shamshul Ansari and I am currently Assistant Professor in Microbiology and Immunology at Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Nepal. I obtained my PhD at Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Oita, Japan and have been teaching microbiology and infectious diseases.

Amritanjali Kiran is working as a Senior Associate-Programs at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms(C-CAMP) in the Antimicrobial Resistance Project. Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms is an initiative of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

In December 2019 I visited western Kenya. My aim was to better understand the conditions under which AMR is being combatted in this amazing African country.

For most of us we are blessed that nowadays AMR is actively targeted at International, Regional, National, Provincial, District, Hospital and Clinic levels.

Santanu Datta of Bugworks, India, shares some very special reminders on AMR. Although this story is little known, parts of this narrative are more like components of a thriller than an undertaking in industrial microbiology.

Franca was pleased to attend the AMR Insights Matchmaking Symposium “Emerging Antimicrobials and Diagnostics in AMR 2019” and wrote her impressions in this guest blog.

AMR Insights Ambassador Luciana Sartori is a veterinarian. She shares her view on AMR in Brazil.

Here I would like to introduce you to why I am choosing Healthcare and subsequently Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in my profession.

As part of the CDC AMR Challenge AMR Insights has committed to develop a globally accessible database of emerging technologies that (may) add to curbing AMR.

Although I’m an infectious disease epidemiologist and a professor with academic appointments in both the US and Canada, my firsthand experience with AMR was intensely personal.

The AMR Insights Ambassador Network is a growing, global network of committed professionals.

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex, multifaceted societal and economic challenge comparable with other global challenges like climate change.

At the request of Innovate UK I have participated in the Global Expert Mission ‘Antimicrobial resistance Germany’. Here you find a summary of the inspiring mission and its promising findings.