In a new report from the Society of Microbiology, experts from across the UK explain the real need for long-term and ambitious funding for the study and research of chemical resistance (AMR).
The next pandemic is likely to be related to resistance to chemicals, they say, and improved monitoring systems to monitor the evolution of AMR over time will be critical to an increase in resistant infections. avoid drugs.
In Ireland, the work to establish an effective AMR monitoring system is likely to be led by the EU. But the UK needs to develop its own strategy, which may be more challenging out of the EU and which requires appropriate funding and guidance. Monitoring and identification of AMR is critical to the eruption, detection of distribution chains, and identification of the evolution of AMR and its contributing factors to evolution, and for local, national survey efforts. and international. Being able to detect and spread the rise of AMR will help protect our economies from pandemics in the future. “
The Report
The report further explains the urgent need for better communication and education about AMR, which is defined as “slow pandemic.” Conventional momentum around infectious disease research should be used to build awareness and understanding of AMR. . With this opportunity comes a threat, however. According to the report, there is a risk that AMR messages will be weakened by the current information surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report highlights the threat that AMR poses to society and contains six key recommendations from the microbiology community. These recommendations focus on research, sensitivity and collaboration, and how new interventions can be developed to address the threat of AMR.
Addressing the AMR issue aligns with many of the GDS; in particular, those related to poverty (GDS 1), human health (GDS 3), food security and agriculture (GDS 2), clean hygiene (GDS 6) and economic growth (GDS 8).
Microbiology is at the forefront of the development of new antimicrobial fertilizers, vaccine testing, providing sustainable solutions for the treatment of livestock and crop diseases, resolving disease transmission patterns across ecosystems and informing what the antimicrobials that should be prescribed when. Thus, the microbiology community is critical in AMR research and can have a significant impact in this area, which may contribute to the delivery of the SDGs.
The current landscape of AMR study in the UK and Ireland is very active and extensive. However, the challenge is great, and some aspects of the research need to be expanded to provide new solutions to diseases caused by antimicrobial-resistant organisms. While basic research is fundamental to understanding how and why, the field needs to be used more, aiming to turn results into new interventions through enhanced interactions with other disciplines and industry partners.