Skip to 0 minutes and 23 seconds Antimicrobial resistance has become a global hot topic over the last few years with the recent report by Lord Jim O’Neill suggesting that this could throw medicine back into the Dark Ages with up to 10 million deaths by the year 2050. This is the equivalent of one death every three seconds. Medical and veterinary professionals have been aware of this problem for 10 years. It is only recently that the public and politicians have become aware of this as a growing threat to international public and animal health and national economies. But what is antimicrobial resistance, or AMR as it’s sometimes called? What are antibiotics or antimicrobials? And what is antibiotic resistance? And how does it develop?
Skip to 1 minute and 3 seconds Antibiotics are not only used to treat human infections, they’re also used to treat livestock diseases. And in some countries, they’re used to stimulate the growth of livestock. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be carried in the intestines of livestock and contaminate carcasses during the slaughter process and ultimately end up in the meat on our plates. So we can’t divorce ourselves from the consequences of using antibiotics in our food production.
Skip to 1 minute and 35 seconds What are national governments and international organisations doing about this? Can more be done? Particularly in agriculture. Can we find new antibiotics? And are there any alternatives available?
Skip to 1 minute and 48 seconds We live in a shrinking economic world. How do the farm practices of far-flung countries affect what happens to us here? Perhaps we can live in a world without antibiotics. But what would such a world look like? This three week course offers explanations for some of these issues. And we talk to key players in antimicrobial research, both in human and veterinary medicine, including representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, the veterinary profession, DEFRA (UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. There will be articles, infographics, and you can take part in tests to test your knowledge. And also in discussion forums to explore new solutions.
Skip to 2 minutes and 28 seconds So join us on this new course on Antimicrobial Resistance in the Food Chain. Find out more.