World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) is a global campaign aimed at improving awareness and understanding of AMR and encouraging everyone to play their part as an Antibiotic Guardian.
In 2019 there were 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR across 204 countries and the World Health Organisation has identified AMR as one of the most pressing global challenges we face this century.
AMR occurs when the microorganisms which cause disease (including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) are no longer affected by antimicrobial medicines such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics that we use to kill them, prevent and treat the disease.
While resistance is a natural phenomenon and not just a health issue, from a human healthcare perspective it is accelerated by:
Inappropriate use of antimicrobial drugs.
Poor infection prevention and control practices.
A lack of new antimicrobial drugs being developed.
Insufficient global surveillance of infection rates.
Without effective antibiotics many routine treatments will become increasingly dangerous. Setting broken bones, basic operations, even chemotherapy and animal health all rely on access to antibiotics that work.
What can you do?
Get vaccinated – it’s really important to get vaccinations when they are offered to you. Vaccines teach your immune system how to create antibodies that protect you from diseases – it’s much safer for your immune system to learn this through vaccination than by catching the diseases and treating them.
Good hand hygiene – this helps to reduce the spread of infections in the first place.
Never demand antibiotics if a doctor, pharmacist or other healthcare professional says they are unnecessary. They do not work for everything and many mild bacterial infections get better on their own without using antibiotics.
When you are prescribed antibiotics, make sure you take them exactly as instructed. Always take the full course – just because symptoms of the illness go away, it doesn’t mean that all of the germs have been killed. Remaining bacteria may cause the illness to start up again. Never share antibiotics prescribed for you with someone else.
Return any unopened, unused and out-of-date medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal. Putting unused medicines in your general waste or flushing them down the toilet is damaging to the environment and other people – they can adversely affect aquatic ecosystems and lead to the emergence of AMR bacteria. You don’t need to return it to the pharmacy where you originally purchased it and there is no cost to return medication to a pharmacy.
Become an Antibiotic Guardian – make a pledge to help ensure antibiotics continue to provide us all with the protections they do today. Share this with your family and friends to raise awareness.
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