Episode 8

(published 3/30/2021)

Access not Excess: AMR the Silent Pandemic

Dr. Rob Breiman and Ken Berta are joined by Professor Dame Sally Davies, the U.K.’s Special Envoy for Antimicrobial Resistance, and Andrew Staunton, HM Consul General in Atlanta, to talk about the urgent public health challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). With the use of antibiotics and deaths from drug-resistant infections rising, Dame Sally and Andrew discuss the essential steps that need to be taken to highlight and arrest this silent pandemic.

References

Special Guests

Takeaways:

06:00 — Without action, the death rate from drug resistant infections per year is predicted to reach 10 million by 2050.
07:00 — As low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by AMR, a sharp focus on investment and development is crucial.
09:24 — Antibiotic effluence contaminates the environment, and fish farming is one of the biggest culprits.
13:23 — AMR is a silent and creeping pandemic. We must communicate more effectively and broadly about the dangers.
14:57 — To combat antimicrobial resistance, we need to begin with surveillance, better drug stewardship, examination of the food chain, and promotion of pharmaceutical innovation.
18:57 — The impact of COVID-19 on AMR.
22:18 — In a world of urbanization, global warming, climate change and COVID-19, why should people worry about antimicrobial resistance?
26:29 — The private sector has a critical role to play.
34:25 — Communication, education and engagement on AMR at the community level.
38:38 — Finding the access versus excess balance.