Sanitation’s role in reducing the spread of AMR

Read the interview that David Graham gave Health Europa on the vital role of sanitation in reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance by click here. Questions covered include:

  • How does a lack of access to clean water and sanitation increase the spread of AMR?
  • Can you explain how wastewater has been used as a tool to guide healthcare decisions during the pandemic?
  • What are the key challenges facing the healthcare sector in preventing the spread of AMR infection?
  • You and your colleagues have successfully trialled two new qPCR assays to detect transmissible AMR. Can you outline your DNA-based testing method and explain the benefits of this?
  • What steps should be taken at a policy level to avoid the worst-case scenario of 10 million annual deaths by 2050?

UK-Malaysia Water Expert Forum “The Linkage between Wastewater, Health and Sustainable Sanitation”

Professor David Graham joins Professor Dato’ Ir Dr Zaini Ujang (Secretary General to the Environment Ministry of Malaysia) and Professor Azmi bin Aris (Director of Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) as panellists and moderator for this webinar. Special thank you to Prof Dr Zainura Zainon Noor for leading the event. The webinar took place 17-19 August 2020. View day two of the webinar here.

Environmental factors in the spread of drug resistance

Today David Graham and Peter Collignon released an Insights piece called Scientists around the world are already fighting the next pandemic in The Conversation. A shorter version entitled Access to clean water may be as vital as cutting antibiotic use in the fight against superbugs also was published in The Telegraph. Both articles discuss the importance of environmental factors in the spread of antibiotic resistance, especially in the developing world.

These articles comment on the just-published Technical Brief on antimicrobial resistance from the World Health Organization; Food and Agriculture Organization; and World Organization for Animal Health. The brief provides recommendations on the implementation of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and wastewater management as strategy for preventing infections and reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance around the world. David was a contributing author on the Brief.