Antimicrobials – Handle with care.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) ranks among the top 10 global public health threats, according to the World Health Organization.

Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise in Canada (CARSS Updated 2020). Canadian experts estimate that 26% of infections—about 1 in 4—are already resistant to the first drugs used to treat them (CCA 2019). As it stands, 5,400 people die as a direct result of antimicrobial resistance in Canada each year. If we continue to overuse antibiotics as we are, the rate of resistance is likely to grow to 40% by 2050, with annual deaths upwards of 13,700. The social and economic impacts of AMR may feel like a heavier burden in the daily lives of Canadians (CCA 2019).

What are antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobials are medications designed to kill or stop the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites that cause infections. They are used to prevent and treat disease, not only in humans, but also in animals and plants.

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites adapt in ways that allow them to fend off or disable antimicrobials. This happens naturally, but overuse and misuse of antimicrobials accelerates these changes. The result is infections that are harder to treat, causing more severe illness, longer hospital stays, and more often death.

This whiteboard video explains antimicrobial resistance and what it means to be a ‘steward’ of antibiotics.

Where do we see the effects of AMR?

The effects of AMR go unnoticed by many of us and it is hard to imagine how it will change the lives of Canadians. For front-line healthcare providers, the effects of AMR are clearer. They see a growing number of infections that do not respond to antibiotics and patients they cannot help. Bacterial pneumonia, gonorrhea and urinary tract infections are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat.

Without effective antibiotics, other treatments will also become risky. Patients needing surgery, dialysis and chemotherapy will be poorly protected from the risks of life-threatening infections.

What can you do? Handle antimicrobials with care!

Proper prescription and use of antimicrobials helps slow the rise and spread of drug-resistant organisms. Canadian prescribers, patients, and the public can all learn more about when antibiotics and other antimicrobials are necessary and when they are not.

One important example is—antibiotics do not work against common cold, flu or corona viruses, and are often unnecessary for some bacterial infections. Despite these facts, inappropriate antibiotic prescription remains common in Canada–estimated at over 30% of all prescriptions, and 50% of prescriptions for respiratory infections.

Slowing the rise and spread of resistant bacteria and other microbes calls for a more balanced view of both the risks and benefits of antimicrobials. One of the best ways to combat antimicrobial resistance is to ask questions like “Is an antibiotic necessary?” or “When is the best care: no antibiotics?”

Improved infection prevention is also helpful, because fewer infections in our hospitals, long-term care homes and communities means less antimicrobial use, and less selective pressure for microbes to develop resistance. You can also apply these proven practices: keep vaccinations up-to-date, commit to good hand and food hygiene, and limit close contact with others when you are ill.

Learn more from the resources and tools below.

When the potential benefit of an antimicrobial outweighs the risk of harms, you and your team ensure patients get the right drug, at the right time, at the right dose, and for the shortest effective duration. Your actions promote quality patient care and protect public health.

Download and share tools and resources to help improve antimicrobial use and reduce harm to Canadians from antimicrobial resistance. Build knowledge of stewardship principles and their applications in practice through accredited training, accessible guidelines, and tips from experts.

Their stories illustrate how important it is to adopt effective practices and policies.  Read and share their stories to act on the threat of antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance.

The 7 Minutes

Prince County Hospital ER is a shining star on wise antibiotic use for the province of PEI. The 7 minutes spent explaining why a patient doesn’t need antibiotics is worth it. Watch it here.

You get the virus, you need a virus plan

Peters Wayne, Dr. Navqui and Greg Burton, community pharmacists from PEI, share their experiences with antibiotic prescription, advice to patients regarding antibiotic use, and antibiotic use in long-term care facilities. Watch it here.

Moxifloxacin

Sarah Lutes, a hospital pharmacist in PEI, shares her story about community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and how Health PEI’s development of guidelines helped to stop unwise prescribing of Moxifloxacin. Watch it here.

The National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) works with several partners to align on priority messages concerning AMR and to extend the reach of leading campaigns across diverse settings, sectors, and regions. NCCID curates a set of tools and resources contributed by partners for dissemination on this website, and promotes relevant events and publications of evidence through social media channels.

NCCID is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and has worked closely with the Agency to support collaborative projects focused on antimicrobial resistance, including assessments of surveillance, information exchanges on promising stewardship practices, and coordinated awareness building.

The organizations and individuals who partner on this initiative are leaders in diverse areas of public health, quality healthcare, antibiotic and antimicrobial stewardship, patient safety, and infection prevention and control. In acknowledgement of their contributions of time and expertise to this campaign, our partners are listed below.

Follow @CentreInfection, like and share messages throughout the campaign.

For more information on this initiative to build awareness of antimicrobial resistance in Canada, please contact the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases.

204-318-2591

nccid@umanitoba.ca

nccid.ca