As this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, I think back to my favorite teachers in school. The ones I remember most were those that had the knack of bringing out the best in their students, and those that succeeded in making learning fun were the most memorable for me. Recently, I attended the 32nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) conference. One of the lectures was about antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The speaker was so passionate and engaging, that I was captivated by what she told us. Did you know that AMR, due to inappropriate use of antimicrobials is projected to cause 10 million deaths by 20250? Or that multiple drug resistant infections cost the healthcare system $20 billion USD in in 2020 alone? These startling figures become especially important in the COVID-19 era, as opportunistic infections, co-infections, and MDR has been increasing in complicated COVID-19 cases. The pandemic exacerbated the problem since off-label antivirals, anthelmintics, antimalarials, and macrolide antibiotics were prescribed. One Health is defined as a ‘collaborative, transdisciplinary approach at the local, regional, national, and global levels with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment’. A recent article found that healthcare students are not learning enough about AMR in the current curriculum, and projects are underway to fill in those gaps. As we all learn about the problem of AMR and how to combat this problem, we will have a better understanding of what is involved and how to be prepared. Class dismissed.
References
Elmahi, O.K.O., Uakkas, S., Olalekan, B.Y. et al (2022) Antimicrobial resistance and one health in the post COVID-19 era: What should health students learn?. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control11:58