The Australian Academy of Science joined with other academies from around the world to call for government and medical practitioner action to address the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.
IAP - The Global Network of Science Academies, and the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP) issued a joint statement, ‘Antimicrobial resistance: a call for action’.
While acknowledging the critical role that antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic drugs play in today’s medical practices, the joint statement highlights the dramatic increase in the number of pathogens developing resistance to these drugs.
To reduce this major public health problem and avert a more serious crisis, IAP and IAMP have called on governments to include the issue of antimicrobial resistance in the global sustainable development agenda and integrate worldwide surveillance systems that include both human and animal diseases.
They have also called for better education of medical and veterinary professions and the wider public in the prudent use of antimicrobials, and for additional research to better understand resistance and develop new therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines.
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