Joining Forces Against AMR

foundry — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:48:49 +0000

On February 12, we teamed up with our friends at Science World and Antibiotic Wise for a fun and free event entitled Resistance: Addressing the threat of drug-resistant infections. To kick off the evening, we screened the film Resistance, which looks at one of the most revolutionary discoveries of the 20th century—antibiotics—and how we’re well on our way to squandering their power.

The film uses firsthand accounts of those who have experienced antibiotic resistant infections and the devastation they can wreak on an individual and family, plus expert interviews, to show us how we’ve gotten here.

The takeaway: while the situation is serious, we are not doomed. Yet.

After the film, we had three experts in the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Drs David Patrick, Bob Hancock, and Victor Leung, led us through a question and answer period highlighting what individuals can do in their lives to fight against growing antibiotic resistance, what new technologies and resources are in development to help combat resistance, and what Canada is doing—and must begin to do—to turn the tide.

Healthcare providers and leaders have been waking up to AMR and how serious it is for our population. Antibiotic prescribing in Canada is decreasing, and as we heard from Dr Leung, rapid testing exists in hospital settings to determine exactly what pathogen might be causing an infection, allowing doctors to treat it appropriately. But personal protection is also important.

What you can do to prevent antibiotic resistance

A huge thanks again to our wonderful partners, Science World and Antibiotic Wise, for supporting this important work.

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The post Joining Forces Against AMR appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

BCCDC Foundation Funding Provides Starting Point for Growing Research

foundry — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 17:24:47 +0000

One of the aims of the Open Awards Program (OAP) is to allow BCCDC Researchers to develop research questions and projects as a pilot, prior to applying to larger peer-reviewed funding competitions. Having received OAP funding in October 2015, Dr. Amee Manges has done just that, submitting a 2017 CIHR Project Grant application in September 2017, to continue the work her team began with funds from the BCCDC Foundation.

The project was titled, “Antimicrobal resistance gene detection using metagenomics” and it’s preliminary findings were also part of a published manuscript in a recent issue of Clinical Infectious Disease, titled “Antimicrobal resistance gene acquisition and depletion following fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for recurrent Clostridium difficile infections” along with co-authors from UBC and McGill.

Dr. Manges expressed her thanks to the Foundation and noted how grateful she was for the support. The results of the most recent round of OAP applications will be announced on the next blog post.

The post BCCDC Foundation Funding Provides Starting Point for Growing Research appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

Antimicrobal resistance Archives | Pacific Public Health Foundation

Joining Forces Against AMR

BCCDC Foundation Funding Provides Starting Point for Growing Research