Will we be celebrating the centenary of antibiotics, in another 14 years, or will we have lost one of our most valuable resources? This was one of the key questions raised at a recent conference addressing ‘one of the greatest threats to human health’. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.
In September 2013, the UK Government took a major step in the fight against the major medical problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Department of Health (DH) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) launched the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013- 2018. The key aims are to avert human infection, safeguard current antibiotics, encourage the development of new antimicrobials, establish new approaches and better diagnostics, as well as increase current knowledge and understanding of AMR.
Experts recently gathered in London to discuss the issue of AMR at a conference hosted by Health and Social Care Reform and Govtoday. Reducing HCAIs: Tackling Anti-Microbial Resistance focused on how the advancement of AMR can be halted through increased research, development and collaboration, while highlighting the importance of prevention of infection, preservation of current medicines and the advancement of new treatments and approaches to the control of healthcare- associated infections (HCAIs).
Professor Neal Maskrey, consultant clinical advisor, Medicines and Prescribing Centre, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provided an insight into ‘Guidance on antimicrobial resistance’. He pointed out that there is wide variation between commissioning groups, in terms of the volumes of antibiotic prescribing, which requires further investigation.
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