Antimicrobial Resistance & Stewardship

Decisive action is needed to reduce the global suffering caused by AMR. That's why, on September 26, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) convened its second High-Level Meeting on AMR. The political declaration endorsed by world leaders lays out the essential actions governments must take to combat one of the most urgent global health threats and development challenges of our time. The ambitious goals set forward in the Declaration can in part be met through the increased utilization of diagnostics, enhanced surveillance, and strengthened laboratory capacity.

In advance of a UN High-Level Meeting on AMR in September, the AMR Industry Alliance officially called on the UN and its member states « to commit to and advance bold, coordinated action on AMR ». We asked Alliance Board Chair James Anderson why urgent action is needed to curb AMR, and how the life-sciences industry contributes.

When her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, Menia didn’t know she would also need to worry about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Here is her story.

This was revealed in an article published in The Lancet Global Health. Today, the African continent is hardest hit by the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), marking a turning point in the health challenges faced by the region. A reality that calls for an urgent response. Dr. Daouda Sissoko, infectious disease specialist and Medical Director for bioMérieux Afrique, discusses the causes and consequences of this major public-health issue.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to public health, with deaths attributed to resistant infections projected to exceed ten million per year by 2050.1 The rapid evolution of resistance requires early identification of patients at risk followed by administration of appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy. Collaboration between stewardship teams and the microbiology lab can play a critical role with the implementation of modern antibiograms that support a clinician’s choice of optimal antimicrobial therapy sooner.