Introduction
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly serious threat to global public health, with estimates that by 2050 the global cost of AMR could be as high as £66 trillion and 10million deaths1.
Without effective antibiotics:-
- Common infections cannot be treated effectively
- Medical procedures including major surgery, organ transplantations and cancer chemotherapy become very high risk
- The cost of health care for patients with resistant infections increases as longer duration of illness and more expensive drugs need to be used
The World Health Organisation (WHO) have advised that all countries need national action plans on AMR2.
In 2013 the Department of Health published the UK 5 year antimicrobial resistance (AMR) strategy3.
In 2017 Public Health England launched the national ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign
