Rethink the narrative of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
-one story at a time-
AMR happens when microbes learn to resist the effects of drugs designed to destroy them. The bugs thrive, the infection is harder to treat, and the patient becomes increasingly ill and may die.
StoryBug turns real personal experiences of infection and AMR into short ‘mini-films’ aka digital stories
Antibiotic resistance: here and now
Modern medicine relies on antibiotics
Modern medicine relies on antibiotics e.g.cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants, hip replacement surgery, or newborn intensive care.1
All bacteria can become resistant to drugs
Bacteria develop resistance naturally as a survival mechanism. Antibiotics threaten bacterial survival, speeding up the development of drug resistance. Reducing use of antibiotics will lessen resistance.2,3
‘Healthy’ people get resistant infections too
‘Healthy’ people can get antibiotic resistant infections during routine hospital visits e.g.MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) or in the community e.g. urinary tract infections (UTIs)
Global Impact
In 2019, globally, 1.3 million deaths were caused by antibiotic-resistant infections, and nearly 5 million associated with them.4
References:
1. Prestinaci F, Pezzotti P, Pantosti A. Antimicrobial resistance: a global multifaceted phenomenon. Pathog Glob Health. 2015;109(7):309-18.
2. Wellcome Trust news. Why is it so hard to develop new antibiotics? Nov. 2023
3. Magalhães C, Lima M, Trieu-Cuot P, Ferreira P. To give or not to give antibiotics is not the only question. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021 Jul;21(7):e191-e201.
4.Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2022 Feb 12;399(10325):629-655.
