2022
Antibiotics have been found in beef labelled as “raised without antibiotics” (RWA) according to a new study in Science. Finding antibiotics in RWA beef, call the integrity of such labels into question. The authors recommend policy reforms by the UDSA to ensure accuracy of labelling.
Oral carbapenem antibiotic could be a possible option for treating UTIs according to a study published in NEJM where authors compared orally administered tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide with intravenous ertapenem in patients with complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI) or acute pyelonephritis. An overall response was seen in 58.8% of patients who received tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide compared with 61.6% who received ertapenem. Overall response at end-oftreatment was 97.3% in the tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide group and 94.5% in the ertapenem group.
Gram stain guided antibiotic therapy was slightly more effective than guideline-based broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) according to a study in JAMA Open Network.
Authors assessing AMR in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region found it to be high according to the study in Emerging Infectious Diseases which reports data on bloodstream infections (BSIs) from the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) during 2017–2019 from 11 – 14 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region to assess AMR.
In a randomised, double-blind trial, researchers found that administering a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine to pregnant mothers reduced antibiotic prescribing in their infants by 12% compared with those who received the placebo. The authors (published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) found vaccine efficacy was 12.9% against all new antimicrobial prescription courses and 16.6% against lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI)- associated new antimicrobial prescription courses among infants in the first 90 days of life.
Stewardship intervention reduced vancomycin use in children according to a study in Pediatrics.
Authors of a study in Clinical Infectious Diseases studied antibiotic treatments in children in the first five years of life in 45 low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) using Demographic and Health Survey data and found childhood antibiotic exposure high in some LMICs.
Authors of a global study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analysed active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in 258 rivers in 104 countries across all continents and found pharmaceuticals in rivers in all continents. Authors found the highest concentrations of APIs at sites in Lahore (Pakistan), La Paz (Bolivia) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).
2021
A study into antibiotic misuse in LMICs compared community-based antibiotic access and use across communities in Africa and Asia over 2.5 years. Vietnam and Bangladesh had the largest proportions of non-licensed antibiotic dispensing points. Self-medication with antibiotics was found to be widespread in Vietnam (55·2% of antibiotics dispensed without prescription), Bangladesh (45·7%), and Ghana (36·1%) but less so in Mozambique (8·0%), South Africa (1·2%) and Thailand (3·9%). "A tailored approach is needed in each country," says Heiman Wertheim of RadboudUMC / ISAC and APUA Board member.
A review published in International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents shows a rapid increase in multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs), pan-echinocandin-resistant Candida glabrata and multi-triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rise is mainly due to high rates of antibiotic prescribing in COVID-19 patients.
The Pew Charitable Trusts published a report which found more than 50% of COVID-19 related hospitalisations incurred at least one antibiotic prescription in the first six months of the pandemic.
The Director of Monash University’s Centre to Impact Antimicrobial Resistance, Prof. Lithgow has warned that antibacterial soaps are causing a global rise in superbugs. Use of antimicrobial soaps has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people believing they provide better protection against germs and disease. However, antimicrobial soaps are no more effective than regular soaps.
A report published by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine provides insight into how social science research can inform efforts to alter antibiotic use.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has funded a new, free antimicrobial resource, for veterinary practitioners. The AMR Collective is a website and learning resources to assist practitioners by keeping them up to date with the latest information on antimicrobial resistance in animals and humans and promote antimicrobial stewardship in daily practice.
A study in Nature Communications by the University of Liverpool's Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) looked at whether prescriptions of the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIA) could be reduced. The authors used electronic prescription data to identify above average antibiotic prescribing practices which were assigned to either a control group, a heavy intervention group or a light intervention group. Both intervention groups were provided with educational material, in-depth benchmarking and follow-up meetings. Over eight months after intervention, the heavy intervention group saw a reduction in prescriptions of 23.5% and 39.0 % for canines and felines respectively compared with the control group (0.6% and 7.4%).
Researchers from McMaster University showed that five days of high-dose amoxicillin in the treatment of pneumonia in children was as effective as ten days of the same antibiotic. The study, published in in JAMA Pedatrics, included 281 children with community-acquired pneumonia in an outpatient setting. 85.7% of those receiving short-course treatment and 84.1% of those receiving the longer-course were cured after 14 – 21 days.
A recent study in The Lancet Microbe found exposure to multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria during travel to certain parts of the world may be far greater that previously thought. Scientists collected daily stool samples from 20 European visitors to Laos over 22 days. 74% contained MDR Gramnegative bacteria – previous studies found this to be between 30 – 70%.
Commonly used non-nutritive sweeteners (saccharine, sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium) can promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in the intestine, according to a new study in ISME Journal. The authors used three model conjugation systems to investigate if artificial sweeteners would encourage the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria. They found that sweeteners do promote plasmid-mediated conjugative transfer between the same bacteria and different phylogenetic strains.
A study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases investigated antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) transmission between pigs and humans. Over the years, the authors have been collecting samples of S. aureus from pigs, farmworkers, farmworkers' family members and community residents in 10 pig-producing counties in North Carolina. For the findings, DNA was sequenced from 49 of these samples to determine how the strains found in pigs and people are related.
A study published in The Lancet evaluated antimicrobial activity of cannabidiol (CBD), the main non-psychoactive component of cannabis. CBD and other cannabinoids have selective activity against a subset of Gram-negative bacteria that includes drug-resistant pathogen N. gonorrhoeae. The authors demonstrate that it is effective against a much larger number of Gram-positive bacteria than previously reported, including antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as E. faecium and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Authors also show that CBD does not lead to resistance after repeated exposure, is effective at breaking down biofilms (a common example of which is dental plaque) and topical in vivo efficacy.
Almost 50% of women in both rural and urban settings are receiving inappropriate antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The study of over 670,450 US commercially insured women with uncomplicated UTIs between the ages of 18 and 44 also found that over three quarters were prescribed antibiotics for too long. Rural women were more likely to receive prescriptions for longer than necessary.
CDDEP releases new report, "The State of the World’s Antibiotics in 2021."
The report presents extensive data on global antimicrobial use and resistance as well as drivers and correlates of antimicrobial resistance.Three key messages are highlighted:
1. Although AMR poses an urgent global public health threat, more people in LMICs die from lack of
access to antimicrobials than from resistant infections.
2. Global efforts to reduce the inappropriate use of antimicrobials and to mitigate AMR must also
increase consistent access to affordable and clinically appropriate antimicrobials.
3. Antibiotic research and development lags behind clinical need, and the antibiotic pipeline is not
equipped to mitigate the effect of increasing resistance o current antimicrobials.
A new study by researchers from King's College London, suggests that minocycline, an antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties, improves depressive symptoms in patients with low-grade peripheral inflammation.
Read the open access article in Neuropsychopharmacology.
New study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases finds inappropriate antibiotic prescribing was highly prevalent nationwide in China. Over half of the antibiotic prescriptions were inappropriate in secondary-level and tertiary-level hospitals, suggesting an urgent need for outpatient antibiotic stewardship.
2020
European Commission published its 5th progress report on the implementation of the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
The progress report shows that a number of AMR initiatives have been continued or put in place in recent months. For example, the Commission has adopted in the EU Farm to Fork Strategy a target aiming to reduce by 50% the overall EU sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals and in aquaculture by 2030. This objective will be supported by the implementation of the recent Regulations on Veterinary Medicinal Products and on Medicated Feed for which implemented and delegated acts are currently being drafted.
Another of the main updates of the Action Plan includes the new Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1729 on the monitoring and reporting of AMR in zoonotic and commensal bacteria. The recently adopted Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe also flagged the fight against AMR as a key objective.
"NHS England and Improvement, in collaboration with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), has selected the first antimicrobial drugs to be purchased via the UK’s innovative ‘subscription-type’ payment model. Today marks the latest milestone in our ‘subscription-style’ payment model for antimicrobials. This new model will incentivise companies to invest in this critical area, to help secure a pipeline of future treatment options for NHS patients." Read more on the NHS England blog.
New ReAct film depicts how effective antibiotics are crucial for the survival of children with severe bacterial infections all around the globe.
Technical brief from World Health Organisation on water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and wastewater management to prevent infections and reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
APUA Board members raise awareness of AMR in a series of short videos during World Antibiotics Awareness Week 2020.
Professor Souha Kanj, APUA Board member and ISAC Executive Committee member, received an honorary doctorate from Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, at the university’s 97th anniversary ceremony. Souha, a highly regarded physician in internal medicine, has been head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon since 1998. She also holds an appointment at Duke University Medical Center in America. Due to the current situation, Souha was unable to attend the ceremony in person but gave an inspiring acceptance speech via live stream which you can watch here.
The Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance, a collaborative effort supported by Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center, has been renamed the Stuart B. Levy Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance (Levy CIMAR) in tribute to APUA founder and antibiotic resistance pioneer, Stuart Levy.
Study published in PLOS One by academics at the University of Bristol has found reductions in overall and individual antibiotic dispensing between 2013 and 2016 after evaluating, for the first time, national primary care prescribing policy on community antibiotic resistant infection.
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) today released a white paper outlining strategies for documenting the recommendations of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) and clarifying the stewardship team’s role in patient care from a legal and quality improvement standpoint. The white paper, titled Legal Implications of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, was published in the journal, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
The International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture (ICASA), a public/private partnership focused on antibiotic stewardship in animal agriculture, is soliciting calls for research concepts related to metaphylaxis, an approach to controlling infectious diseases in beef cattle and swine.
Position paper on Antimicrobial therapeutic drug monitoring in critically ill adult patients published in Intensive Care Medicine.
An expert panel of international leaders including ISAC’s ICU and Sepsis Working Group provides guidance priorities for implementing personalised dosing and identifies research gaps to be addressed.Bacteria that are persistently resistant to one antibiotic are ‘primed’ to become multidrug-resistant bugs finds study in Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Venatorx Pharmaceuticals and GARDP partner to develop new antibiotic for hospital acquired infections with limited treatment options.
Childhood vaccines and antibiotic use in low- and middle-income countries - new study published in Nature.
Nature Communications study links aquaculture, global warming and antimicrobial resistance.
FDA hears strong public support for Expanded Veterinary Oversight of Animal Drug Use:
More than 5,000 comments back plan to include all antibiotics important to human health
NHS could save £89m a year on antibiotics with diagnostic tests according to study published in Journal of Medical Economics.
Review in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy highlights use of critical antibiotics in veterinary medicine
Bacteriophage therapeutics: FDA clears first clinical study for PhageBank for the treatment of multi-drug resistant bacteria.
New study in Lancet Respiratory Medicine on “Decreasing antibiotic use, the gut microbiota, and asthma incidence in children: evidence from population-based and prospective cohort studies.”
New international surgical guidelines will help to save thousands of lives in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMIC) countries by standardising and improving practice in surgery.
Researchers reporting in Environmental Science & Technology have shown that when disposed of in this way, municipal solid waste can be an important source of antibiotic-resistance genes in the air.
Multinational ICU study published in JAMA finds high rate of infection, antibiotic use.
Australia’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy - 2020 and Beyond
Study on Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections in U.S. Hospitalized Patients, 2012–2017 published in New England Journal of Medicine.
Study in Clinical Infectious Diseases shows stewardship benefits of ID specialists.
Apes in U.S. zoos host bacterial communities in their intestinal tracts that are more similar to those of people who eat a non-Western diet than to the gut makeup of their wild ape cousins, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.
Further, even wild apes that have never encountered antibiotics harbor microbes with antibiotic resistance genes.
New advice on which antibiotics are to be used for common infections and which ones are to be preserved for the most serious medical conditions are likely to be among the additions to the newly revised National List of Essential medicines (NLEM).
Bioscience engineers from KU Leuven in Belgium have developed a new antibacterial strategy that weakens bacteria by preventing them from cooperating. Unlike with antibiotics, there is no resistance to this strategy, because the non-resistant bacteria outnumber resistant ones.
A study published in Science shows that combining multiple antibiotics may make bacteria more likely to develop resistance.
Study published in Environmental Science & Technology shows chlorine could increase antimicrobial resistance.
U.S. PIRG and the Antibiotic Resistance Action Centre jointly launch podcast: Superbugs unplugged.
2019
CDC publish Core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs: 2019.
According to a study published in Lancet Infectious Diseases found that under-5's are receiving an average 25 antibiotic prescriptions each year.
FDA launches app for health care professionals to report novel uses of existing medicines for patients with difficult-to-treat infectious diseases
Researchers have developed a new test for primary care could diagnose UTIs in 25 minutes via smartphone camera.
National Institute of Health Renews Funding for the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG).
WHO / Public Health England release webinar on Launch of the curricula guide for health workers' education and training on AMR.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publish Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals.
Public Health England (PHE) publish English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance (ESPAUR) Report 2018 – 2019.
Association of the European Self-Care Industry (AESGP) releases position paper on AMR.
Health Protection Scotland publish Scottish One Health Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in 2018 Annual Report.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) release Technical Report: Survey of healthcare workers’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours on antibiotics, antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in the European Union / European Economic Area.
WHO publishes Antimicrobial Stewardship programmes in health-care facilities in low- and middle- income countries: A WHO practical toolkit.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Fetroja (cefiderocol), an antibacterial drug for treatment of patients 18 years of age or older with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including kidney infections caused by susceptible Gram-negative microorganisms, who have limited or no alternative treatment options.
Public Health England (PHE) publishes Infectious Diseases Strategy 2020 - 2025 which addresses public threats in the 21st century.
APUA founder and previous President, Professor Stuart B. Levy sadly passes away at aged 81 on 4 September 2019.
An AMR Multi-Partner Trust Fund was launched jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO,) the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and WHO.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK tests the world’s first ‘subscription’ style model that pays pharmaceutical companies upfront for drugs based on their usefulness to the NHS. The trial will be led by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England and NHS Improvement.
The Indian Government bans the use of colistin on farms after an investigation revealed it was being widely used as a growth promoter in livestock. The Ministry of Health issued a notification prohibiting the “manufacture, sale and distribution of the drug and its formulations for food-producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements” because such use is “likely to involve risk to human beings”.
The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) launched new “5 by 25” initiative which aims to develop and deliver five new treatments to address antibiotic resistant infections by 2025.
WHO identified “Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials” in the WHO list of critically important antimicrobials for human medicine (WHO CIA list).
The Australian Government published a consultation paper which seeks stakeholder feedback on Australia’s five-year antimicrobial resistance strategy (published in 2015).
Study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism finds that women exposed to triclosan, an antibacterial agent found in soaps, toothpastes and cleaning products, could have a greater risk of osteoporosis.
The United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security holds hearing in June 2019 on “U.S. Biodefense, Preparedness, and Implications of Antimicrobial Resistance for National Security.”
A new draft guideline from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Public Health England sets out an antimicrobial prescribing strategy for lower UTIs (cystitis).
World Health Organization publish “Monitoring and evaluation of the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance: Framework and recommended indicators” in May 2019.
Dr Hanan Balkhy announced as new WHO Assistant Director General for Antimicrobial Resistance.
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) releases recommendations for combatting AMR.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) / Innovate UK announces it will award £20 million for AMR research, including bilateral research between DHSC’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).
The Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) scheme has selected 12 projects to run across Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Zambia. The scheme is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care’s Fleming Fund which has committed £1.3 million in UK aid to support new or existing partnerships between NHS trusts and UK health institutions, and their counterparts across four African Commonwealth countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) releases a policy brief outlining cultural factors as one of the biggest obstacles in tackling AMR.
Antibiotic prescribing guidelines published by the Indian Critical Care Medicine Society (ICCMS) in the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine. They provide scenario-based recommendations and aim to combat multidrug resistance in the Indian population.
A new report by The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed that antimicrobial resistance in diseases such as campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis is increasing.
2018
APUA President and founder Stuart Levy announces retirement from APUA.
FDA has announced the release of a 5-year blueprint (Supporting Antimicrobial Stewardship in Veterinary Settings) for furthering the FDA’s efforts established by its Guidance for Industry #213.
Gordon William Grundy, valued member of APUA’s Board of Directors for 12 years sadly passed away.
New U.S. bill (Strengthening Antibiotic Oversight Act [S3099]) introduced to increase oversight of antibiotic use in animals.
The Canadian Parliament has issued a new report calling for accelerated development of a plan to address the country’s AMR problem, including more federal leadership and coordination.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), WHO and OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) issued memorandum of understanding which outlines aim to step up ‘One Health’ agenda.
WHO has released a 28-page document titled WHO Competence Framework for Health Workers’ Education and Training on Antimicrobial Resistance—aimed at improving healthcare worker’s education and training on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The EU has announced a new EU Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) & Health Care Associated Infections, called EU-JAMRAI.
A joint panel of experts from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) has updated the 2010 guidelines for the management of C. difficile.
Canada and the UK have announced a new initiative to combat antimicrobial resistance in low and middle income countries (LMICs) called initiative - Innovative Veterinary Solutions for Antimicrobial Resistance (Innovet-AMR).
First data available from Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (ARLN) a surprisingly higher than expected number of “unusual” genes described as the “worst of the worst”.
Healthcare giant, microbiologist and U.S. Congresswoman (D-NY), Louise Slaughter, passed away on 16 March at age 88.
Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR) convenes in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss common challenges in addressing antimicrobial resistance.
International survey led by CDDEP reports antibiotic consumption at 42 billion doses a year in 2015—up 65% over that found in 2000.
FDA report shows sales of animal antibiotics decline for first time. A decline of 10% was observed between 2015-2016—a decrease of 14% in those antibiotics that are medically important for humans.
