Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that enter the body and cause damage to our tissues. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when these infectious agents become resistant to the drugs that would normally kill them or inhibit their growth.
VIEW VIDEO | Dr Jaclyn Person discusses her work on antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the top ten global public health threats that has the potential to reverse the great advances of medicine in the last 100 years. The global problem of anti-microbial resistance is largely due to genetic changes that arise in bacteria as these organisms are exposed to antibiotics. This natural form of biological evolution has been accelerated by factors such as misuse of prescription antibiotics, poor adherence to dose and regimens, counterfeit or substandard antibiotic preparations in some countries, poor infection control and global trade and travel.
If antimicrobial resistance advances at its current pace, medicine will reach the point where we are no longer able to treat common bacterial infections. Research organisations, such as Hudson Institute, are joining the worldwide effort to prevent this from happening.
What causes antimicrobial resistance?
Antimicrobial resistance is caused by changes to the genetic code of the infectious agent. Acquisition and spread of these genetic changes are influenced by a range of factors, including
Increased use, overuse, and misuse of antibiotics and anti-virals in healthcare
The large-scale use of antibiotics in food producing animals and agriculture
Excreted antibiotics seeping into wastewater, soil and farming
Rapid pathogen evolution.
Affected medications include
Antibiotics
Antiviral agents
Antifungal medication
Antiparasitic medication.
Why is antimicrobial resistance a problem?
The ability of antibiotics and other drugs to treat infection is a vital part of healthcare. Without effective antibiotics, even minor surgery and routine operations could become high risk procedures. Antibiotics are used routinely with cancer therapies, organ transplants and joint replacements to mitigate the risk of a life-threatening infection.
The increased resistance of bacteria to multiple antibiotics* is an urgent threat to human health globally. Multi-drug resistant bacteria drive more serious illness and longer hospital stays, placing more strain on the health system. Some people have died from infections that antibiotics can no longer treat.
People with a drug-resistant infection may
Be sick longer
Be more difficult to treat
Require more complex care and longer hospital stays
Need more expensive care and medications
Be at increased risk of spreading their illness.
*Antimicrobial resistance refers to resistance in bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Antibiotic resistance refers specifically to resistance in bacteria.
What are the implications for treatment?
From the 1960s to the 1980s, the pharmaceutical industry developed several new classes of antibiotics. However, since then, there has been a dearth of new drugs developed to combat the emergence of multi-drug resistance. As a result, infections caused by multi-drug-resistant germs known as ‘superbugs’ can be all but impossible to treat.
The risk of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms becoming more serious and more difficult to treat. These microbes can cause many illnesses, including
Laboratory and genetic tests can identify which microbe is causing an infection and whether it is resistant to certain antimicrobial medications. If an antimicrobial-resistant infection is identified, doctors may need to try a different medication or prescribe a higher dose for longer. They may also try a combination of medicines or other treatments.
How to combat antimicrobial resistance
You can play a role in reducing the risk of infection and the need for antibiotics and other antimicrobial medications by
Taking medications when necessary and as prescribed
Being aware of increased risk of infection in chronic conditions, such as diabetes
Ensuring all relevant vaccinations are up to date
Practicing good hygiene around animals and around the home.
Our antimicrobial resistance research
Hudson Institute researchers are at the forefront of the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Our researchers have a deep knowledge of bacterial growth dynamics and the diseases they cause, as well as human immune responses to infections, and how bacteria fight back. We are working to overcome antimicrobial resistance by studying
How common illnesses, such as gastroenteritis and pneumonia are affected by antimicrobial resistance
How antibiotic resistance spreads
How bacteria infect cells so we can design drugs to block them
How our immune system controls bacterial infection so that we can enhance it against drug resistant bacteria and viruses
Ways to enable our microbiome to resist infection with pathogens
Identify new compounds and pathways that can be used to target resistant bacteria.
High-tech drug screening against cell-invading bacteria
Molecular studies. New treatments. Repurposing drugs used to treat unrelated conditions is a new approach to treating multidrug resistant bacteria infections.
Led by Professor Elizabeth Hartland, this project uses high-throughput technology to screen drug samples against bacteria that replicate within human cells, including Salmonella Typhimurium and Legionella pneumophila.
Unlike traditional antibiotics that directly target bacteria, this work will identify compounds that boost protective responses in human cells or block human cell processes fundamental to bacterial growth.
Understanding a rapidly emerging type of multidrug resistant Salmonella
Molecular studies. A variant of Salmonella Typhimurium has emerged as a leading global cause of multidrug resistant salmonellosis, a form of gastroenteritis.
Dr Jaclyn Pearson and her team are endeavouring to understand how this pathogen has become persistent in Australian livestock and how it is more likely to cause serious disease in humans.
Molecular studies. New treatments. The global rise of multidrug resistant Shigella, a type of bacteria that causes severe gastroenteritis, is a critical health concern.
For the first time, our researchers will extensively describe the human immune system responses that help control multidrug resistant Shigella infection. This project aims to identify new infection treatments that don’t rely on traditional antibiotics.
Antimicrobial resistance in the human microbiota (microorganisms)
Molecular studies. Antimicrobial resistance is emerging at an alarming level, rendering some bacterial infections untreatable and increasing dependence on last line antibiotics.
Dr Sam Forster and his team are seeking to describe antimicrobial resistance within the naturally occurring gut bacteria to help identify the most effective antibiotics to use. The aim of this work is to help minimise the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in hospitals and the community.
New therapies to prevent or treat Helicobacter pylori infection
Molecular studies. H. pylori has been identified by the WHO as one of a small selection of bacteria that pose the most serious threat to human health because of their drug resistance and therefore a high priority for antibiotic research and development.
Professor Richard Ferrero and his team are working on a vaccine against H. pylori infection and collaborating with Professor Phil Andrews’ group at Monash University, who are developing new metal compounds to treat this infection. The research aim is to develop novel anti-H. pylori therapies that are not affected by antibacterial resistance.
Microbiological Diagnostic Unit and Public Health Laboratories, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne – Prof Deborah Williamson and Dr Danielle Ingle