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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health issue affecting humans and livestock. To mitigate AMR risks, responsible use of antimicrobials in livestock production systems have been advocated. Studies have reported patterns of antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock production systems; however, there is limited information on the drivers of AMU and AMR. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and understand the attitude and knowledge of Fijian livestock farmers on AMU and AMR. Livestock farmers and managers from the Central and Western divisions of Viti Levu, Fiji were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Face-to-face one-to-one semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. Interview questions were informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Interview transcripts were analyzed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis and deductively using the TPB framework. A total of 19 cattle and poultry farmers took part. Our analysis generated four themes: (1) Uninformed use of antimicrobials and unaware of AMR, (2) Safeguarding livestock and generating income source as primary motivators for using antimicrobials (3) Medicine shortage results in hoarding and self-prescribing, and (4) Farm decisions on AMU and livestock management influenced by foreign farmers and veterinarians. Livestock farmers used medicines in livestock production; however, they could not differentiate amongst different types of medicine, including antimicrobials. Antimicrobials were used to prevent diseases in livestock and promote production of food and financial security but without any awareness of the risks of AMR. Additionally, farmers hoarded and self-prescribed medicines. Farmers rationed antimicrobials by not completing the entire course of antibiotics to save them for future use. Based on past experiences, farmers expressed dissatisfaction with the veterinary services provided by the government. They sought help online and from foreign farmers and veterinarians. We propose the need for antimicrobial ...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) imperils health for people across the world. This enormous challenge is being met with the rationalisation of prescription, dispensing and consumption of antimicrobials in clinical settings and in the everyday lives of members of the general population. Individuals need to be reached outside clinical settings to prepare them for the necessary changes to the pharmaceutical management of infections; efforts that depend on media and communications and, therefore, how the AMR message is mediated, received and applied. In 2016, the UK Review on Antimicrobial Resistance called on governments to support intense, worldwide media activity to promote public awareness and to further efforts to rationalise the use of antimicrobial pharmaceuticals. In this article, we consider this communications challenge in light of contemporary currents of thought on media publics, including: the tendency of health communications to cast experts and lay individuals in opposition; the blaming of individuals who appear to 'resist' expert advice; the challenges presented by negative stories of AMR and their circulation in public life, and; the problems of public trust tied to the construction and mediation of expert knowledge on the effective management of AMR.

Despite global awareness of the key factors surrounding antimicrobial resistance (AMR), designing and implementing policies to address the critical issues around the drivers of AMR remains complex to put into practice. We identified prevalent narratives and framing used by epistemological communities involved in the response to AMR in Tanzania, interrogated how this framing may inform policymaking, and identified interventions that could be tailored to the groups believed responsible for AMR. We interviewed 114 key informants from three districts and analysed transcripts line by line. Our results suggest that many different groups help drive the spread of AMR in Tanzania and need to be involved in any effective response. Human health is currently perceived as driving the response, while other domains lag behind in their efforts. For AMR programmes to be successful, all sectors need to be involved, including civil society groups, community representatives, and those working in communities (e.g., primary care physicians). However, current plans and programmes largely fail to include these viewpoints. The perceived presence of political will in Tanzania is a significant step towards such a response. Any strategies to tackle AMR need to be tailored to the context-specific realities, taking into account constraints, beliefs, and power dynamics within countries.

During the past 70 years, there has been a continued incremental worsening of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by a combination of abusing antimicrobials in humans and animals as well as insufficient research and investment for new antimicrobial agents. The current trend of worsening AMR is likely to result in increased mortality and morbidity, longer stays in hospitals and accelerated health care costs. It is estimated that the global mortality attributed by AMR could reach 10 million per year by 2050, which is a massive increase from the current estimated mortality of 700, 000 per year. The year 2014 was the turning point of more than a half century of AMR history, transforming it from technical issue to a political agenda. Major progress includes adoption of the Global Action Plan on AMR at the WHO World Health Assembly in May 2015, followed by completion of a National Action Plan in most parts of the world, enactment of the Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System (GLASS) in October 2015, launch of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week in November 2015, and G20 Leaderscommitment to create the AMR Global Collaboration Hub in July 2017. Moreover, a comprehensive program against AMR has been implemented in some countries, such as UK, USA, and Germany. The strategic approach through coordination led by WHO with relevant international agencies and other entities was one of the key enabling factors for sustained political commitment on AMR.

Bio-contamination of water through biofouling, which involves the natural colonization of submerged surfaces by waterborne organisms, is a global socio-economic concern, allied to premature materials bio-corrosion and high human health risks. Most effective strategies release toxic and persistent disinfectant compounds into the aquatic medium, causing environmental problems and leading to more stringent legislation regarding their use. To minimize these side effects, a newly non-biocide-release coating strategy suitable for several polymeric matrices, namely polydimethylsiloxane and polyurethane (PU)-based coatings, was used to generate antimicrobial ceramic filters for water bio-decontamination. The best results, in terms of antimicrobial activity and biocide release, showed an expressed delay and a decrease of up to 66% in the population of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on ceramic filters coated with polyurethane (PU)-based coatings containing grafted Econea biocide, and no evidence of biocide release after being submerged for 45 days in water. Biocidal PU-based surfaces were also less prone to Enterococcus faecalis biofilm formation under flow conditions with an average reduction of 60% after 48 h compared to a pristine PU-based surface. Biocidal coated filters show to be a potential eco-friendly alternative for minimizing the environmental risks associated with biofouling formation in water-based industrial systems. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Bacterial resistance is a sanitary issue explained by indiscriminate use of nonprescription drugs, and antimicrobial use in food production for growth promotion. Bothropstoxin-I (BthTx-I) is a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from Bothrops jararacussu venom, which has a known antimicrobial effect. The goal of this study was the unprecedented evaluation of in vivo antimicrobial activity of BthTx-I in broilers. Microbiological, biochemical, and histological parameters were determined using 84 21-day old broilers that were kept in cages with four birds each at a density of 625 cm2/broiler. The experiment was randomized by three treatments with seven repetitions of four broilers each that lasted seven days. The treatments were: 1) bacitracin zinc diet; 2) PLA2-BthTx-I; 3) without additives. The data obtained from the studied variables was subjected to analysis of variance and an F-test at the 5% significance level. Averages of each variable in each treatment were compared by Tukey's test. Broiler bacterial cloacal counts showed that BthTx-I decreased the microbial population without reducing body weight, intestinal morphology, or liver or kidney histopathological damage. The toxin showed in vivo activity, being an alternative for better performance in the production of broiler chickens, because it acted by decreasing the microbial load of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal microbiota of the birds and did not cause muscle, liver or kidney damage at the assessed dosage.

Since their discovery, antibiotics, and more broadly, antimicrobials, have been a cornerstone of modern medicine. But the overuse and misuse of these drugs have led to rising rates of antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria adapt in ways that render antibiotics ineffective. A world without effective antibiotics can have drastic impacts on population health, global development, and the global economy. As a global common good, antibiotic effectiveness is vulnerable to the tragedy of the commons, where a shared limited resource is overused by a community when each individual exploits the finite resource for their own benefit. A borderless threat like antimicrobial resistance requires global governance mechanisms to mitigate its emergence and spread, and it is the responsibility of all countries and relevant multilateral organizations. These mechanisms can be in the form of legally binding global governance mechanisms such as treaties and regulatory standards or nonbinding mechanisms such as political declarations, resolutions, or guidelines. In this article, we argue that while both are effective methods, the strong, swift, and coordinated action needed to address rising rates of antimicrobial resistance will be better served through legally binding governance mechanisms.

In 2001, the Task Force developed an initial Action Plan, outlining specific issues, goals, and actions important for addressing the problem of AR. This document, entitled A Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance, Part I: Domestic Issues, reflected a broad- based consensus of participating federal agencies, which was reached with individual input from state and local health agencies, universities, professional societies, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare delivery organizations, agricultural producers, consumer groups, and other members of the public. Continued collaboration with these partners has been vital to achieving successful implementation of the Action Plan. This revised Action Plan is based in part on individual input obtained at a consultants' meeting held in Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2007. Present at the public meeting were consultants with wide-ranging expertise in areas such as human and veterinary medicine, pharmaceutical and diagnostics manufacturing, animal husbandry, clinical microbiology, epidemiology, infectious diseases and infection control, and state and local public health officials. The Action Plan includes action items organized into four focus areas: Surveillance, Prevention and Control, Research, and Product Development. ; Executive summary -- Introduction and overview -- The Focus Areas -- Focus Area I: Surveillance -- Focus Area II: Prevention and Control -- Focus Area III: Research -- Focus Area IV: Product Development -- Acronyms and abbreviations ; Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance ; co-chairs: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration. ; Title from caption (viewed on October 1, 2012). ; The Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (hereafter referred to as the Task Force) was created in 1999 to coordinate the activities of federal agencies in addressing antimicrobiala resistance (AR) in recognition of the increasing importance of AR as a public health threat. The Task Force is co-chaired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and also includes the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS/ASPR). ; Mode of access: Internet; PDF reader (Acrobat .pdf file: 300 KB, 34 p.). ; Text (electronic publication)

The antimicrobial or antagonistic activity of probiotics is an important property that includes the production of antimicrobial compounds, competitive exclusion of pathogens, enhancement of the intestinal barrier function and others. There are many methods to ascertain probiotic properties, including various in vitro and in vivo methods. The in vivo methods include various modifications of the spot‐on lawn assay, agar well diffusion assay (AWDA), co‐culturing methods, usage of cell lines and others. In many cases in vitro antagonist activity is observed, but in real settings it is not observed. The in vivo methods mainly used are animal models; however, their use is being restricted according to the European legislation OJ L136. The justification of animal models is also questionable as the results of studies on animals do not predict the same results for humans. The use of replacement alternative methods, for example incorporating human cells and tissues, avoids such confounding variables. Most important studies are double‐blinded randomized clinical trials; however, these studies are difficult to perform as it is not easy to achieve uniform conditions. There is a clear need for more elaborate assays that would better represent the complex interactions between the probiotics and the final host. This complex situation is a challenge for scientists.

Bio-contamination of water through biofouling, which involves the natural colonization of submerged surfaces by waterborne organisms, is a global socio-economic concern, allied to premature materials bio-corrosion and high human health risks. Most effective strategies release toxic and persistent disinfectant compounds into the aquatic medium, causing environmental problems and leading to more stringent legislation regarding their use. To minimize these side effects, a newly non-biocide-release coating strategy suitable for several polymeric matrices, namely polydimethylsiloxane and polyurethane (PU)-based coatings, was used to generate antimicrobial ceramic filters for water bio-decontamination. The best results, in terms of antimicrobial activity and biocide release, showed an expressed delay and a decrease of up to 66% in the population of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on ceramic filters coated with polyurethane (PU)-based coatings containing grafted Econea biocide, and no evidence of biocide release after being submerged for 45 days in water. Biocidal PU-based surfaces were also less prone to Enterococcus faecalis biofilm formation under flow conditions with an average reduction of 60% after 48 h compared to a pristine PU-based surface. Biocidal coated filters show to be a potential eco-friendly alternative for minimizing the environmental risks associated with biofouling formation in water-based industrial systems. ; This research work was supported by national funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of research units grants to BioISI (UIDB/04046/2020 and UIDP/04046/2020), and also by Base Funding-UIDB/00511/2020 of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology, and Energy-LEPABE-funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). O. Ferreira also acknowledges the Grant PD/BD/128370/2017. L.C.G. and E.R.S. thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for their work contracts through the Scientific ...