Webinar about antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing concern. In some G20 countries, more than 40% of infections are caused by resistant bacteria. In Europe, resistance to commonly used antibiotics increases by 1% every year. The main cause of AMR is the improper use of antibiotics.

Education is therefore an important tool in the fight against AMR. SAFOSO organized a webinar on AMR for the insurance company CSS Health Insurance. The webinar helped attendees understand how antimicrobials, and the resistance they can induce in bacteria, impacts both their work and their daily lives. An important goal of the webinar is that participants are enabled to form their own opinion on this important health-threatening topic.

Together with the participants, we walked through all aspects of the use of antibiotics and how resistance builds.

Topics discussed during the webinar included:

• An overview of the history of antibiotics
• The different classes of antimicrobials and why research and development into new antibiotics is less attractive to companies
• An overview of resistance numbers, specifically of tuberculosis causing bacterium Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and pan-resistant bacteria
• The use of antimicrobials in food, the environment and in pets
• How do antimicrobial resistant bacteria spread
• How do antimicrobials work
• What induces development of resistance and what happens when bacteria get resistant?
• Which regulations are in place to prevent antimicrobial resistance and what else can we do to responsibly use antibiotics to protect animals and humans