An Antimicrobial Resistance Toolkit from Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most prevalent public health issues worldwide. In the UK, we have increasing rates of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with infection control becoming a growing burden to the NHS. The problem is even more complex in low and middle-income countries, where general infection control is far more challenging and difficult to implement.

Globally, AMR represents one of our greatest ‘one-health’ challenges that places immense pressure on societies. As antibiotics cease to effectively manage previously treatable infections, AMR will increasingly become a major threat to modern medicine.

Antibiotics are crucial to infection prevention and control for a wide range of medical practices, from: miscarriages; general surgery; chemotherapy management; organ transplantation; the management of renal failure, the treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), to name just a few examples.

As AMR becomes more prevalent we risk returning to the pre-antibiotic era, when people of all ages died of minor infections. This will undoubtedly have a dire impact on society both culturally and economically. These problems will be disproportionately felt in low to middle-income countries where economies are already strained, and the risk of impoverishment is significantly greater.

The Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences team have provided a series of digital resources that build on the skills and knowledge to improve global AMR surveillance and research.

These resources will support scientists, researchers, and healthcare professionals to understand more about antimicrobial resistance, as well as learn about infection control, surveillance, detection techniques, and global health sustainability.