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The study was limited to three aged care homes of the same provider , so the same systems and types of care could be accurately compared . Due to privacy reasons , the name of the aged care provider cannot be disclosed .
Dr Venter said water-waste sample analysis is uncommon in the industry because working with a large amount of samples from residents , the facilities and their wastewater can be exhaustive and time-consuming .
Data from these three facilities have been analysed as part of a larger study to investigate antimicrobial resistance of residents , which Dr Venter said should be a clear warning to aged care facilities to implement stricter policies when it comes to medication use to mitigate the threat of AMR .
The Australian Health Care Commission have their own Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia Surveillance System ( AURA ) which found that overall , not many rates of resistance have changed since 2019 samples were taken , and some have even decreased .
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Antimicrobial resistance is projected to lead to 300 million deaths worldwide by 2060 , and aged care residents are among the most vulnerable
However , resistance rates for certain diseases , such as E . coli and salmonella , have increased in the past 10 years .
The World Health Organisation ( WHO ) found evidence of resistance to antibiotics in a 2014 report , and said AMR is a serious threat that is happening now , and can affect anyone in any country . Antibiotics studied by the WHO in this report are used to treat infections such as bloodstream poisoning ( sepsis ), diarrhoea , pneumonia , urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea ; which are all common , but serious , diseases .
WHO ’ s assistant director-general for health security , Dr Keiji Fukuda , said significant action is needed to change how medical professionals prescribe and use antibiotics . “ Without urgent , coordinated action by many stakeholders , the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era , in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill ,” Dr Fukuda said .
Australia ’ s national AMR strategy is a 20-year framework that aims to ‘ protect the health of humans , animals and the environment through minimising
Dr Rietie Venter led the study in Adelaide . Image : supplied .
the development and spread of AMR while continuing to have effective antimicrobials available ’.
The strategy is driven by the need for clear and collaborative regulation of antibiotics by all Australian governments , and also calls on all private and public businesses to review if their handling of prescription drugs could be contributing to increasing AMR .
Dr Venter told Aged Care Insite this was just an initial study , and she looks forward to analysing samples from other aged care facilities .
She added that she is now working with the aged care facility to effectively implement infection control to prevent potential outbreaks of infections caused by antimicrobial resistant organisms . ■
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