Yesterday, October 24th, ID-CARE Director, Evelina Tacconelli, was invited to discuss the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on the medical program Elisir, hosted by Italian broadcaster, Rai.
In the interview, Prof. Tacconelli discussed the background of AMR, and the problems that come with it. Considering both the impacts to society with mortality and long-term problems following infection, and also the large amounts of money spent due to AMR, being about €700 million annually here in Italy for the fight against AMR.
AMR has become an endemic problem, slowly increasing under the radar and depriving future generations of effective therapies, as inappropriate use of antibiotics enables microbes to evolve and become resistant to specific treatments. Antibiotics are used too much across the world, both in and outside of healthcare, they’re overused also in agricultural settings, for livestock. Prof. Tacconelli discussed the importance of educating doctors on how to prescribe antibiotics, and understanding patients’ potential allergies to certain antibiotics. She also highlighted the significant impact on AMR of a lack of personnel, explaining that there is a clear link between the two, that the risk of infection rises as the number of healthcare workers reduces.
Prof. Tacconelli then discussed the possibility of vaccines being a way to reduce the impact of AMR. While there are effective vaccines for bacterial pneumonia and influenza, there are around 62 vaccines that are being reviewed and improved to better protect society against infection. She also explained the three categories of antibiotics, as used for Antibiotic Stewardship programmes, to encourage the use of the right antibiotic at the right moment: green, those that are safe and can be used without concern; yellow, those that should be well considered before being prescribed; and red, those that should be reserved, and used only when absolutely necessary. Prof. Tacconelli also highlighted that there is no official course to teach doctors how to prescribe antibiotics, something that should be a vital part of medical training.
Discussing antibiotic allergies, Prof. Tacconelli explained that in Italy about 10% of the population has a penicillin allergy, meaning they cannot be prescribed amoxycillin, one of the “green” commonly-used antibiotics. From research, it seems that those with a penicillin allergy are more likely to have higher-impact infections than those without, and that, often, while it may be marked as an allergy, it may be instead a side-effect or gastrointestinal reaction to the treatment. She stressed the importance of discussing this with one’s doctor, as this is not the same as an allergy and may then affect what treatments can be prescribed.
Watch the full interview here, from the beginning and lasting 13 minutes: https://www.raiplay.it/video/2024/10/Elisir---Puntata-del-24102024-365fc21a-083f-4870-b582-6a4a688c0cd9.html
Here at ID-CARE we are involved in many projects focussed on AMR, in particular the projects REVERSE and SAVE.
REVERSE is a Horizon 2020 EU-Funded project for which the University of Verona is a partner and Work Package lead. The project develops and implements cost-effective strategies and tools for the prevention and clinical management of healthcare-associated infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms, aiming to reduce the burden of antimicrobial resistance in high-prevalence healthcare settings. Work Package 4, which the ID-CARE team leads, focusses on the development and organisation of the Antibiotic Stewardship Programme.
SAVE, a project run by the University Hospital of Verona, aims to promote awareness and training of healthcare personnel regarding antibiotic prescriptions. In February 2023, the Firstline mobile App, developed through this project, was launched and made accessible to all the healthcare professional at the University Hospitals of Verona, following its two years of development, and successful pilot phase. The app, through guidance of appropriateness of various treatments, aims to reduce the use of antibiotics. During the pilot phase, the app was adopted within the COVID wards, the Paediatric area and in the two Emergency Departments of the hospitals.
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