GenAI talk for Young at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) March 2024
Anti microbial resistance
1. HEAL CHALLENGE 2018 COMPETITION
ANTI-MICROBIAL RESISTANCE
Prepared by:
OKELLO ISAAC OPIO
16/U/1021
Bs BIOTECHNOLOGY
YEAR 2
+256778336598/+256700662434
isaacokelloopio@gmail.com
Question
In not more than 12 slides power point, present how a
lay-man can understand the phenomenon of
antimicrobial resistance, them briefly describe the
strategies that can be used to combat this rate?
2. What is AMR
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is simply a microorganism's
resistance to an antimicrobial drug that was once able to treat an
infection by that microorganism (WHO, 2014).
• Or when you are taking antimicrobial treatment but the patient is
not responding to the treatment.
• Non-resistant microbes multiply, and upon drug treatment, they die
while drug resistant bacteria multiply as well, but upon drug
treatment, the microbe still continue to spread.
• Antimicrobial resistant-microbes are found in people, animals, food,
and the environment, that include; water, soil and air.
• Example of the resistant bacteria include Klebsiella pneumonia
resistant to Carbapenems & Staphylococcuc aureus resistant to
Methicillin.
3. How the resistance arise?
• These resistance happens when the microorganism (such as
bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) change and become
resistant to antimicrobial drugs ( such as antiviral, antibiotics,
among others)
• Although antimicrobial occurs naturally overtime, usually
through genetic changes, people are accelerating this process by
misusing and overusing antimicrobial drugs. Which create
evolution pressure.
• Resistance arises through one of three mechanisms: natural
resistance in certain types of bacteria, genetic mutation, or by
one species acquiring resistance from another (gene transfer).
• Resistance can appear spontaneously because of random
mutations.
4. Why act now?
• "this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it
is happening right now in every region of the world and has
the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country
(WHO, 2014).
• The full impact of this is unknown yet.
• There is no system in place to track antibiotic resistance
globally.
• Therefore without urgent action, the following is bound to
happen:
Resistant organisms lead to treatment failure
Increased mortality
Added burden on healthcare costs.
5. CAUSES of AMR
These can be categorized at patients’ level, clinical/hospital level , drug
level and environmental level.
1. At the patients’ level
• Taking antibiotics by people with viral infections like colds and flu
yet most of this is viral.
• Patients not finishing their treatment or failing to finish their dose.
• Taking less dose or treatment because of the poverty rate where
people are unable to buy full doses sometimes
• Lack of education and knowledge on proper use of antimicrobials.
• Self-medication without undertaking diagnosis or advice from the
physician.
• Lack of sanitation concept whereby poor hygiene result into spread
of the resistant microbe.
NOTE: Lower antibiotic concentration contributes to
the increase of AMR by introducing more mutations.
6. CAUSES continuation …
2. Clinical practices
• Poor hygiene by hospital staffs and water accelerates
the spread of resistant organisms.
• Unnecessary prescriptions even when it is not needed
to treat a given infection..This can be due to patients’
pressure.
• Physicians not having time to explain why a given
antimicrobial is needed
• Over prescribing of antimicrobial drugs by physicians to
patients
7. CAUSES contn…
3. Drug related
• Over the counter availability of antimicrobials
• Wide spectrum drugs when antimicrobial drug
combinations are prescribed.
• Fake and substandard drug especially in developing
countries.
• High rate of use of antibiotics in both humans and in
agriculture as a way of promoting animal growth.
• Lack of current knowledge and training about
antimicrobials
8. CAUSES contn…
4. Environmental factors
• The spread and contamination of the environment,
especially by hospital waste water and untreated urban
wastewater. Along with antibiotic waste, resistant
bacteria follow, thus introducing antibiotic-resistant
bacteria into the environment.
• Poor sanitation causes increased community acquired
resistance
• Huge populations and overcrowding
• Rapid spread by better transport facility
• Widespread use of antibiotics in animal husbandry and
agriculture and as medicated cleansing products
9. How health workers can combat
Prevent infections through;
• Ensuring your hands, instruments and environment are clean.
• Is possible, test the patients to confirm if you think they may need
antibiotics.
• Only prescribe antibiotics when they are truly needed.
• Prescribe and dispense the right antibiotic dose and for the right
duration.
• Prescribing narrow spectrum antimicrobial drug rather than use of
broad of spectrum antibiotics.
• Ensuring availability of a periodic summary of antimicrobial
susceptibilities of local bacterial isolates. Used by clinicians to
assess local susceptibility rates.
• Having hospital antimicrobial policy in order to curb the common
misuse and overuse of antibiotics.
10. What agricultural sector can do?
• Vaccination of the animals to reduce the need for
antibiotics and develop alternatives use natural antibiotics
from plants.
• Promoting and applying good production and processing
practices at all steps from animal and plant sources.
• Ensuring that antibiotics given to animals are only used to
treat or control infectious diseases and under veterinary
supervision.
• Adopting international standards for the responsible use of
antibiotics and guidelines, like Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO).
• Adopting sustainable systems with improved hygiene,
biosecurity and stress-free handling of animals.
11. What you and ‘I’ can do to combat
• Always ensure to finish the dose
for the prescribed drug even if you
feel better.
• Never share antibiotics with others
• Never use left over antibiotics
• Only use antibiotics when prescribed by a
certified health professional.
• Regularly wash hands and avoid contact with sick
people in order to prevent infections
12. What policy makers can do
• Improving surveillance of antibiotic resistant infections
• Ensuring availability of a robust national action plan to
tackle antibiotic resistance.
• Regulating and promoting the appropriate use of quality
medicines.
• Ensuring availability of the information on the impact of
antibiotic resistance
• Shorten the approval timeline for new drug so that patients
with severe infections could benefit as quickly as possible.
• Provide economic incentives, especially for development of
new classes of antibiotics, reducing set up costs for industry
to develop antibiotics.
13. REFERNCES
• Levy, S.B. The challenge of antibiotic
resistance. Sci. Am. 278, 46–53 (1998).
• Levy, S.B. Microbial resistance to antibiotics.
An evolving and persistent problem. Lancet 2,
83–88 (1982).
• http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/f
s194/en/
• THANK YOU .