World HAI Forum Issues Global Call to Action to Fight Antibiotic Resistance

Between June 27 and 29, more than 70 international experts in medicine, infectious diseases, microbiology and epidemiology gathered at the Foundation M‚rieux’s Conference Center in Annecy, France, for the third edition of the World HAI Forum on healthcare-associated infections, a bioM‚rieux initiative. Forum participants call upon national and international health authorities and policy makers, the medical and veterinary communities, Industry and the general public to take action to avoid an impending public health catastrophe caused by the emergence and spread of bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics.

While research to discover novel antibiotics has slowed to a virtual standstill, bacterial resistance has increased due to the massive use and misuse of antibiotics, not only for human health but also for animals. The treatment of certain common infections is becoming difficult and the success of immunosuppressive therapies and surgical interventions (e.g., organ transplants, cardiac surgery, etc.,), which are associated with a high risk of bacterial infection, could be compromised.

To the forum experts, emergence of pan-resistant NDM-1 bacteria and epidemic of multidrug-resistant E. coli infections in Europe should be taken as a major public health warning, indicating that a new era of antimicrobial resistance has begun.

In a continuation of calls to action and proposals made by major national and international organizations (WHO, ECDC, IDSA, CDC, etc.), forum participants identified priority action areas to fight bacterial resistance and recommended 12 actions to be implemented in the short to mid-term to effectively address this serious problem.

Priority actions for policy makers and health authorities included to:

  • (For animals) stop the administration of antibiotics used in human medicine and limit antibiotics to therapeutic use only (noting it is imperative to reserve the most important classes of antibiotics for humans),
  • banish in all countries use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed,
  • regulate sale of antibiotics for use in human medicine and prohibit over-the-counter sales worldwide, and have international organizations (WHO, European Union) develop a charter on good antibiotic stewardship and have all the ministries of health worldwide sign it and commit to respecting it.

Priority actions for the human and veterinary healthcare communities included to:

  • establish standardized, universal surveillance of antibiotic use and resistance and monitor the emergence and spread of new forms of bacterial resistance, and
  • include in the medical and veterinary school curricula a solid training in bacterial resistance and prudent use of antibiotics and establish on-the-job training programs for healthcare workers, taking into account the cultural specificities of each country.

Priority actions for the general public included to:

  • develop culturally sensitive awareness campaigns, targeted to the general public, explaining the importance of protecting antibiotics and using them only when absolutely necessary,
  • provide education about fundamental hygiene, such as hand washing to prevent the spread of infection (noting it is imperative to improve sanitation systems to eliminate resistant bacteria in wastewater) and include consumers in the development and implementation of action plans.

Priority actions for industry included to:

  • develop point-of-care and rapid diagnostic tests, which can be used at the patient’s bedside or the doctor’s office, to guide the prescription of antibiotics and avoid their prescription for viral infections,
  • stimulate research and development of novel antibiotics, and
  • find new economic models, which reconcile public health interests with Industry needs for profitability.

To hear what experts discussed at the forum, go to: www.hai-forum.com

For more information visit: www.bioMerieux.com/hai-resistance

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