Infection Control Written by Pat Cattini, president, Infection Prevention Society
Every infection prevented helps us combat antimicrobial resistance Infection prevention must be the cornerstone of our approach to tackling antimicrobial resistance, says Pat Cattini, president of the Infection Prevention Society, who looks at the reasons why effective infection prevention is a crucial part of the fight against AMR The threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely publicised. As highlighted by a report from the Health and Social Care Committee, AMR could result in the death of 10 million people per year by 2050 if we don’t take action. The second year of Public Health England’s national ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign is also well underway. But are we taking action on this major public health threat where it’s needed most? Awareness campaigns to educate the public and health professionals on the correct administration of antibiotics are an important way to help the over prescription and incorrect use of antibiotics. But first and foremost, we must prioritise effective infection prevention. Every infection results in an increased demand for antibiotics, and failure to control antibiotic use provides opportunities for resistance to emerge. With further lapses in infection prevention, these resistant organisms will continue to spread and thrive in our healthcare environments, posing a significant threat to our ability to deliver modern healthcare including surgery, transplants and cancer care. We are unlikely to find a solution by looking to the development of new antimicrobials. There have been no new
classes of antimicrobials for decades, and those which are brought to market through re-engineering of old antibiotics are expensive and often redundant within a short time. Big pharmaceutical companies generally do not see a good return on the massive investments needed to produce antimicrobials and are more likely to focus on producing drugs which appeal to a wider, more long-term market.
foundation of preserving antimicrobial treatment and controlling resistance. A vital element of the infection prevention armamentarium is the use of vaccination to prevent disease circulating within our communities. Encouraging vaccination is particularly important given recent figures showing that take-up of MMR vaccine has fallen for the fourth year in a row, while measles outbreaks are increasing in the UK and across Controlling resistance Europe. Vaccination is probably a victim This situation is unlikely to of its own success: with a lack of change within the next visibility of many conditions five years - the lifetime within the general public We mu of the government’s over recent decades, s t ensure new AMR strategy. It people have forgotten tha healthc is therefore vital to the very real risks that are wo t rkers focus on looking after they pose and may on the front lin the effectiveness not appreciate how a re well e of existing devastating conditions a rmed to tackle t antimicrobials by like measles can be. h e reducing their use. Simple and of antimchallenges Infection prevention inexpensive practices icrobial resistan is key, because every such as hand hygiene can ce infection prevented significantly reduce rates of means we don’t have infections in health and care to administer antibiotics. settings, reducing the need for Infection prevention must be the antibiotics to be used. However, E Volume 19.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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