If we are going to survive the crisis of microbial antibiotic resistance, we need to do two things. To develop new methods of destroying resistant microorganisms, such as bacteria. And to make whatever use we can of our few remaining antibiotics. The new UK Antimicrobial Register is an attempt at the second. And a very brave one, in our opinion. Once again the inimitable Ethan Ennals covers the story for the Mail.[1] However, we thought our readers might like a link to the UKAR site for themselves. [2]
Like every country, the UK is facing a crisis. There are now 150 cases of antibiotic resistance presenting every day in out hospitals. Effective drugs are becoming ever rarer, Doctors need to know who is prescribing what, to whom, and how often. The new register does exactly that. It should help us to eke out the effectiveness of existing antibiotics for a few more years. Or maybe just months?
Which still begs the first of the questions which we posed above. Without in anyway disparaging the highly educated people who have developed this ingenious register, we are still waiting the mass production of reliable new antibiotics. We will continue to monitor progress. But sometimes it feels more like hope than expectation.
[1]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12029123/British-scientists-plan-sophisticated-computer-program-combat-antibiotic-resistance.html
#UKAR #antibiotic resistance #health #microbes #bacteria
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