clinical focus
‘ Act now ’
Experts warn aged care of rising superbug rate .
By NCA NewsWire .
Experts have sounded the alarm on the growing crisis of antibioticresistant superbugs , increasingly posing a risk for aged care facilities .
The new report from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering ( ATSE ) and CSIRO warned Australia of a looming ‘ silent pandemic ’ of superbugs .
ATSE and CSIRO have urged high-risk settings , including aged care homes , to take immediate action to reduce the overuse of antibiotics and design a model to prevent antimicrobial resistance ( AMR ).
AMR occurs when bacteria and other microbes become resistant to the drugs designed to kill them , such as antibiotics , usually from misuse or overuse .
As we age , our risk of getting an infection increases due to a lowered immune system .
Residential aged care communities are more prone to frequent and deadly AMR outbreaks than other settings due to a close living environment and an older , frailer population .
Moreover , aged care facilities tend to have high levels of inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing and use .
Roughly one in ten aged care residents have been prescribed at least one antimicrobial , of which more than half showed no signs or symptoms of an infection .
Close to one-third of all prescriptions in aged care was for topical antimicrobials , used to treat fungal , viral and bacterial infections on the skin .
18 agedcareinsite . com . au
Branwen Morgan , lead of CSIRO ’ s Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance Mission , said AMR could undermine modern medicine since these bacteria learn to adapt over time .
As soon as the first family of antibiotics was developed in the 1920s , its effectiveness began to decline .
Within six years , penicillin was no longer effective against a quarter of staphylococcal infections in hospitals .
“ Resulting infections caused by these resistant microbes are hard – or impossible – to treat with available therapies ,” Morgan said . “ Without action to stop the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance ( AMR ), there is a risk of losing these lifesaving interventions and returning to a preantimicrobial era .
“ This is catastrophic for human health outcomes , which can rapidly and severely decline without the availability of effective treatments for infections .”
CSIRO ’ s report estimated that more than 10 million people could be killed by AMR each year , costing the world economy close to $ 150 trillion .
By 2050 , simple infections could be deadly , and some surgeries are too dangerous to perform unless urgent action is taken .
The safety and quality commission reported that hospitals continue to overprescribe antibiotics , where in 2017 , nearly one out of four antibiotic prescriptions were rated inappropriate .
“ This is catastrophic for human health outcomes .
Another report expected AMR infections to lead to the death of 1.3 million people worldwide in 2019 - a number greater than the death rate of HIV / AIDS and malaria combined .
Australian hospitals have one of the highest numbers of outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant E . faecium , where resistance rates have been above 40 per cent since 2016 .
Of the nation ’ s five most common AMR bacteria found in hospitals was found to result in the highest death and hospitalisations rate .
Overall , AMR bacteria contributed to the highest hospital costs in bed days ( nearly 13,000 ), costing them over $ 24,000 yearly compared to other infections .
The World Health Organisation has listed AMR among the top 10 global threats to health .
In 2019 , 1.27 million deaths were directly attributed to drug-resistant infections globally .
Morgan said there was a ‘ social imperative to act now .’
“ From our perspective , we feel there must be more of a preventive approach to tackle this issue before it manifests in total treatment failure ,” she said .
The report , released on Tuesday , calls for greater national coordination and a focus on streamlining commercialisation processes for new AMR solutions and technologies . “ Australia has the potential to be a strong global contributor in the development of technologies to combat AMR and should aspire to be a world leader in its management ,” it said . “ Australia has a wealth of creative and practical solutions for detection and prevention of AMR emerging in our own backyard .” Surface sprays that change colour when pathogens are present , and toilets that detect and disarm harmful microbes before they reach our waterways are two examples of the innovation that could be used in the superbug fight .
ATSE fellow and chair and MTPConnect non-executive director Sue MacLeman said it was time to move beyond alarm and for sectors to work together .
“ These technologies would help Australia and the rest of the world maintain and extend the effectiveness of antibiotics or antimicrobials for longer ,” she said . ■