Antimicrobial Resistance - The Silent Pandemic
Key Facts:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the top 10 global public health threats to humanity
The over prescription and overuse of antimicrobials has led to the emergence of so-called ‘superbugs’.
These are strains of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that have developed resistance to the antibiotics traditionally used to treat most infections.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is on course to overtake cancer and will account for 10m deaths a year by 2050. (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations).
According to different studies, it is projected that AMR could cost from $300 billion to more than $1 trillion annually by 2050 worldwide. (Infection and Drug Resistance, doi:10.2147/IDR.S234610)
Key Antimicrobial-Resistant Strains:
MRSA - This strain of bacteria is resistant to a range of commonly-prescribed antibiotics. Often entering through an open wound, MRSA makes hospital patients prime targets for this bacterial infection. In fact, 35% of MRSA cases arise in a hospital setting.
Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) - Life-threatening diarrhoea is caused by this bacteria. It is estimated that just under 224,000 people were hospitalised with C. diff in 2017 in the US alone, costing around $1 billion in healthcare costs.
Drug-resistant Candida auris (C. auris) - Unlike the other two examples, C. auris is a drug-resistant yeast species. Some strains are resistant to all three common antifungal classes, meaning these infections are currently untreatable. Its ability to cause outbreaks in a hospital setting is exacerbated by the fact it is often misidentified in the lab.
AMR is everyone’s problem and something has to be done.
There has been significant research efforts directed at combating AMR. The US and UK governments have invested considerable amounts of money to fund research and development of new antibiotics and alternative treatments.
Considerable progress has been made for other treatments such as specific targeting of bacteria with bacteriophages and other immunotherapies. Yet focusing only on novel therapies is not enough and should be combined with preventing AMR in the first place.
Hospital Curtains
Their dirty little secret
Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are largely caused by resistant pathogen strains as there is a high concentration of patients with weakened immune systems and increased drug exposure in hospitals. Infection control remains the best method of prevention. Infections can spread easily and rapidly through hospitals across surfaces such as curtains, bed rails, countertops and medical devices such as catheters and ventilators. Unfortunately, hospital disinfection is a topic largely glossed over when discussing AMR whilst many current cleaning protocols have not been revised for the last 25 years. Shockingly, hospital curtains are only cleaned or replaced every 6 months in a lot of hospitals. This leads to the accumulation of dirt and pathogens that could very easily be avoided.
That is where KwickScreen comes in!
Our screens are an effective infection control method by acting as a physical barrier between beds to reduce microbe transmission from patient to patient. Unlike curtains, our screens are made from an easy-to-clean non-porous material with a single touch point to make your lives easier and cleaner. Luckily for you, our screens are compatible with standard hospital cleaning products such as ethanol. Lastly, you can also clean our screens during the hospital stay of each patient without sacrificing privacy unlike with curtains that require full removal prior to cleaning.