Antimicrobial resistance in human populations: challenges and opportunities.

S Allcock,G Dougan,M S Sandhu,M Holmes,L Solomon,E H Young,D Gurdasani,M E Török

doi:10.1017/gheg.2017.4

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat. Emergence of AMR occurs naturally, but can also be selected for by antimicrobial exposure in clinical and veterinary medicine. Despite growing worldwide attention to AMR, there are substantial limitations in our understanding of the burden, distribution and determinants of AMR at the population level. We highlight the importance of population-based approaches to assess the association between antimicrobial use and AMR in humans and animals. Such approaches are needed to improve our understanding of the development and spread of AMR in order to inform strategies for the prevention, detection and management of AMR, and to support the sustainable use of antimicrobials in healthcare.

Highlights

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the ability of microbes to grow in the presence of a drug that would normally kill them or limit their growth [1] – is a major global public health concern [2, 3]
There have been many studies exploring the association between antimicrobial use in animals and resistance in humans, involving direct and indirect routes of transmission [19]
In 2015, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Medicines Agency conducted an aggregated analysis of surveillance data from across the EU, assessing the relationship between human and animal use of antibiotics and AMR [26]

Summary

Introduction

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the ability of microbes to grow in the presence of a drug that would normally kill them or limit their growth [1] – is a major global public health concern [2, 3]. Antimicrobial use, misuse or overuse in clinical medicine is a major contributing factor in the development of AMR in human populations [3, 16,17,18]. There have been many studies exploring the association between antimicrobial use in animals and resistance in humans, involving direct and indirect routes of transmission [19].

Results

Conclusion