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International Conference in Uppsala, September 6-8, 2010 As the burden of antibiotic resistance grows, securing access to effective antibiotics must become a top priority on the global health agenda. To address this challenge, Uppsala University/ReAct (Action on Antibiotic Resistance) will host the conference "The Global Need for Effective Antibiotics - Moving towards Concerted Action" on September 6-8, 2010 in Uppsala, Sweden. This invitational conference will build upon and deepen the discussions held at the expert meeting on "Innovative Incentives for Effective Antibacterials", organized by the Swedish EU Presidency in the fall of 2009. You are also welcome to follow the online streaming of the opening session of The Global Need for Effective Antibiotics - Moving towards Concerted Action on Monday, September 6th from 13.00 CET. |
WHO urges countries to take measures to combat antimicrobial resistance |
Owing to the emergence of New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1), an enzyme with the abilty to render some bacteria highly resistant to almost all antibiotics, WHO now urges countries to take measures to combat antimicrobial resistance. In the news release, WHO also announces that antimicrobial resistance will be the theme of the 2011 World Health Day. |
New CGD Report on AMR | |
The Race Against Drug Resistance, a new report from the Center for Global Development's Drug Resistance Working Group, warns that the world is rapidly losing its ability to treat these and other common diseases, such as dysentery and respiratory infections that can lead to deadly pneumonia. Click on image to download report |  |
Antibiotic Resistance Renders Neonatal Sepsis Lethal in Tanzania | |
| A recently published Tanzanian study highlights how the management of neonatal sepsis due to multi-resistant gram negative bacteria is becoming increasingly difficult. In the study, two thirds of the children infected with resistant bacteria died, a majority of those within 72 hours of the initiation of antibiotic treatment. |
| This study contributes to the growing amount of evidence on how escalating antibiotic resistance among common bacterial pathogens is adding to the number of neonatal deaths, and how antibiotic resistance can no longer be ignored when discussing child survival in low-resource settings. Read more> |  |
ReAct Urges Transatlantic Taskforce to take Global Approach on AMR | |
| In a letter to the Transatlantic Taskforce on antimicrobial resistance, ReAct proposes potential directions for the Taskforce's work, stressing the importance of addressing the issue as a global concern. It is with great hope and expectations that we, ReAct--Action on Antibiotic Resistance, welcome the efforts of the EU-US Taskforce on antimicrobial resistance. This urgent challenge, particularly of bacterial resistance, requires concerted action and strong leadership. Download letter> |
 | Swedish Prime Minister, then EU Chairman, Fredrik Reinfeldt and US President Barack Obama at the November 2009 EU-US Summit where the establishment of the taskforce was agreed upon. |
World Health Assembly Resolution to Fight Childhood Pneumonia | |
| On Friday 21 May the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution focused on the prevention and treatment of pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children. On the last day of the 63rd World Health Assembly, WHO Member States adopted a resolution on the treatment and prevention of pneumonia -- the number one killer of children under five ears globally. |
| The resolution makes it clear that intensified efforts to address pneumonia are imperative for the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4. ReAct applauds the passage of the resolution, but note that the problem of antibiotic resistance and its consequences for effective treatment of bacterial pneumonia is not mentioned. Read more> |  Photo: WHO/TDR/Crump |
2nd INDEPTH-ReAct Workshop on Antibiotic Resistance | |
| On May 9-11, 2010 the 2nd INDEPTH-ReAct Workshop on Antibiotic Resistance was held in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. | |
| Hosted by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR, B), the workshop was arranged as a follow-up to the October 2009 exploratory workshop in Pune ,India | |
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| The aim of the 2nd workshop was to develop a cross-site research proposal on issues related to antibiotic resistance and to discuss strategies to monitor antibiotic resistance and use within the INDEPTH network. The need for a global surveillance system for antibiotic resistance is critical and the INDEPTH HDSS centres are uniquely positioned to generate data in areas where there currently is little or no information available. - I am very excited about this opportunity and the workshop was very productive, said ReAct Director Andreas Heddini. |
Tackling Antibiotic Resistance - | |
| ReAct secretariat members provide editorial on the future needs in tackling antibiotic resistance in the British Medical Journal. In a health systems perspective analysis in the online edition of the British Medical Journal, Chantal M. Morel and Elias Mossialos of the London School of Economics and Political Science, address how financial incentives could get pharmaceutical companies to take on development of new antibiotics. These incentives, write the authors, should include funding in the early stages to spark the interest of the industry, but also adequately reward the high risks associated with antibiotic R&D. |
| ReAct secretariat members Anthony So, Neha Gupta and Otto Cars provided an editorial to accompany Morel's and Mossialos' analysis. The focus of the editorial is on the future needs in managing infectious disease, which according to Anthony So et al, go beyond bringing about new and effective antibiotics. "Much more can be done to bolster diagnostics and surveillance of resistance patterns, reduce demand from patients for unnecessary antibiotics, and help standardize optimal dosing regimens and treatment times," they write. |  ReAct secretariat member Anthony So |
| Anthony So and his ReAct colleagues saddle the newly established U.S. and the European Union task force on antimicrobial resistance with a great deal of responsibility in this issue, and emphasise that the challenge of antibiotic resistance is a truly global issue that requires concerted action. "The EU-US Transatlantic Task Force must rise to this complex challenge and define its solution in global terms. Nothing less than the future of medicine, from organ transplants to chemotherapy, is at stake, and there will be no second chances." Link to Stoking the antibiotic pipeline, by Chantal Morel & Elias Mossialos Link to Tackling antibiotic resistance, by Anthony So, Neha Gupta, and Otto Cars |
Sweden Urges WHO to Assume Leadership on Antibiotic Resistance | |
| In her plenary speech on the opening day of the 63rd World Health Assembly , Ms Maria Larsson, Swedish minister for public health, urged the WHO to show leadership in tackling antibiotic resistance. |
 WHO/Jess Hoffman | - We can note that there is an increasing awareness about this major health threat, but far from enough action. The leadership of WHO is urgently needed in this area, she said. - The matter at hand is so urgent that I encourage all member states to do their utmost to reduce the resistance. And at the same time I urge WHO to commit to this matter in accordance with the resolution from 2005 and report its work to the assembly, preferably next year |
| In her speech, Ms Larsson also expressed her deep concern with WHO's current financial situation, not least the fact that the proportion of earmarked funding has continued to expand over the last decade or more - sometimes leading to suboptimal allocation of resources. - We are now living with a situation where decisions by WHA can be implemented only partially, and sometimes not at all within a reasonable time, said Ms Larsson. |