Association of Health Care Journalists Health Journalism 2019 Conference
A Future Without Antibiotics
Saturday, May 4, 2019, Baltimore, Maryland
We invite you to explore the many dimensions of antimicrobial resistance. Some places to start have been provided below. Many have been drawn from the free monthly newsletter of the Antibiotic Resistance Coalition. Please sign up for this at http://abrcoalition.com/arc-newsletter/.
In addition, the IDEA Initiative is hosting Innovate4AMR, a global online competition seeks to engage student teams to propose strategies to tackle the underuse, overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which persist in healthcare settings from hospitals and clinics to outpatient pharmacies. Registration is now open, and, in partnership with the World Health Organization and International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, winning teams will participate in a capacity building workshop in Geneva during World Antibiotic Awareness Week in November 2019. More information and registration can be found at http://innovate4amr.org/.
Finally, the UN Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) on Antimicrobial Resistance released their groundbreaking report on April 24, 2019, calling for immediate, planned, and united action on antimicrobial resistance. For key figures and statistics on antimicrobial resistance and efforts in stalling the spread of AMR, the report can be found at https://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/interagency-coordination-group/final-report/en/.
Key Facts:
In the United States, drug-resistant infections cause 23,000 deaths per year (CDC, 2013)
In Europe, 33,000 deaths are attributable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ECDC, 2019)
Globally, more than 700,000 deaths are attributable to antimicrobial resistance (UK Review on AMR, 2014)
Left unchecked, the future could be grimmer:
Up to 10 million people could die of drug-resistant infections in 2050, more than the number of people who die from cancer today each year (UK Review on AMR, 2014)
Up to 24 million more people could be forced into extreme poverty by 2030 (World Bank, 2017)
In high AMR-impact scenarios, there could be a 3.8% loss of annual GDP by 2050, with an annual shortfall of $3.4 trillion by 2030 (World Bank, 2017)
Over 40% of systemic antibiotics were withdrawn from the market between 1980-2009 (ASLME, 2013)
Rate of antibiotic withdrawal is over three times greater than other therapeutic categories (ASLME, 2013)
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Monitoring for Accountability
Environment and Antimicrobial Resistance
Microbiome and Antimicrobial Resistance
Innovation and Antimicrobial Resistance
Food Systems and Antimicrobial Resistance
Consumer Products and Antimicrobial Resistance
Launched in 2016, the IDEA (Innovation + Design Enabling Access) Initiative based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health seeks to foster innovation and the design of new technologies for greater health access and impact through a combination of research, policy work, and training. It also collaborates with a variety of initiatives across the University and beyond, including the Johns Hopkins Alliance for a Healthier World and ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance.
Created in 2005 ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance is one of the first international independent networks to articulate the complex nature of antibiotic resistance and its drivers. ReAct was initiated with the goal to be a global catalyst, advocating and stimulating for global engagement on antibiotic resistance by collaborating with a broad range of organisations, individuals and stakeholders.
