World Antimicrobial Awareness Week
Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together
Hologic is proud to support World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022
World Antimicrobial Awareness Week is a global initiative instigated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and encourage best practice among the general public, healthcare professionals and policymakers.1
What is antimicrobial resistance and why does it matter?
Antimicrobials (including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics) are becoming less and less effective as pathogens acquire new resistance mechanisms. With the growing prevalence of AMR, infections are becoming difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.1
Antimicrobial Resistance in 2019²:
human deaths worldwide were associated with bacterial AMR
human deaths were directly attributable to bacterial AMR
Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) caused more than 100,000 deaths attributable to AMR
6 other pathogens* each caused 50,000–100,000 deaths
*carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii, carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, third-generation cephalosporin-resistant K.pneumoniae, third-generation cephalosporin-resistant E. coli, fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli and multidrug-resistant excluding extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.
AMR is a Major Threat to Global Health
Watch our ANIMATION
Learn more about the global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance2
Watch our Testimonial
Listen to Dr. Thierry Naas, Bacteriology Department at Hôpital Bicêtre AP-HP (Paris), discuss the global burden for bacterial antimicrobial resistance
What can be done to improve the current situation?
The issue of AMR cannot be solved by any one strategy alone but requires collaboration across multiple sectors. Long-term solutions for reducing AMR include: 3
- Lowering demand of antimicrobials by improving sanitation and hygiene
- Using rapid diagnostics to optimise treatment
- Increasing the supply of new antimicrobials and vaccines
- Reducing the unnecessary use of antimicrobials in agriculture and their dissemination into the environment
- Curtailing unnecessary use of antimicrobials
- Strengthening global surveillance and raising public awareness
References: 1. World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, Campaign guide. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/antimicrobial-resistance/waaw-2022_campaign-guide_en.pdf?sfvrsn=f87cd2a_1&download=true 2. Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators "Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis." The Lancet. 2022;399(10325):629-655. 3. O'Neill, Jim. "Review on antimicrobial resistance: tackling drug-resistant infections globally: final report and recommendations." (2016) Available at: https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/160525_Final%20paper_with%20cover.pdf