What are the paths health systems can take to a more disease-free world? And related to that, why do we talk about the total “eradication” of some diseases, like polio, whereas for others, “elimination as a public health problem” or simply disease “control” that shrinks an epidemic into an endemic disease is a more realistic […] Continue reading ->
Animals, not humans are the largest consumers of antimicrobial drugs – and thus the leading factor driving antimicrobial resistance. But WHO and other UN actors are still dancing around the ‘cattle, chickens and pigs’ in the room. And member states aren’t keen to track animal antibiotic use trends – even at the cost of future […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the scientific community to start to implement a ‘One Health’ approach – encompassing people, animals, plants and the environment – to ensure the early identification of infectious diseases and make the world a healthier place. The issues that “One Health” may tackle are diverse. They can range from curbing deforestation […] Continue reading ->
A major new British study has provided encouraging data that people infected with the Omicron variant are 20% less like to visit a hospital and 40% less likely to be admitted overnight than those with the Delta variant. The Imperial College study, published Thursday, looked at everyone with a confirmed infection of either variant in […] Continue reading ->
Government action against the threat of “superbugs” in most of the world’s leading economies gets a score of less than 50%, according to a new AMR Preparedness Index, released today by a global coalition committed to fighting current trends. Great Britain, the United States, Germany and France rated highest on a score of 1-100 in […] Continue reading ->
Proposals to incorporate some 40 new medications in WHO’s Essential Medicines List – from complex cancer treatments to new medicines for hepatitis C and rabies – will be examined over the coming two weeks by the EML Expert Committee. The Committee, which kicked off its deliberations on Monday with a public hearing, also will consider […] Continue reading ->
Dairy farmer Tonny Kidega is passionate about his cattle and his country’s health systems – and has been championing the importance of limiting the use of antibiotics to curb the development of drug-resistant “superbugs” and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Based in the Gulu district in northern Uganda, Kidega is a veterinarian and the Managing Director of […] Continue reading ->
Low-and-middle-income countries have made significantly less progress than high-income countries in implementing hand hygiene and infection prevention programmes that can stop deadly diseases, from diarrhoea to COVID-19, according to a recent A World Health Organization survey of 88 countries. And one in four health care facilities in poorer countries do not have basic water services […] Continue reading ->
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a “silent pandemic” of drug resistance to mutated bacteria, viruses and parasites is gaining ground and requires major government investments in antibiotic research and development (R&D), a group of experts has warned. “People are dying across the world from drug-resistant infections. This is a problem of today, and […] Continue reading ->
This week is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, marking the fight against the silent and rising global threat of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs. Can patients be part of the solution? This week is the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) when we turn the world’s attention to the growing problem of drug resistant diseases – caused by bacteria, viruses […] Continue reading ->