Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is predicted to be one of the greatest threats to public health in the twenty-first century. In this context, understanding the reasons why perceptions of antibiotic risk differ between different groups is crucial when it comes to tackling antibiotic misuse. This innovative volume gathers together chapters written by sociologists, psychologists and linguists with the common aim of examining the social factors that affect use of antibiotics among humans and animals. A unique focus on Denmark – one of the world’s most progressive countries when it comes to antibiotic regulation – as well as Europe more broadly, makes this book a valuable resource for regulatory deliberations on future antibiotic policy to effectively combat AMR.
This Open Access volume provides in-depth analysis of the wide range of ethical issues associated with drug-resistant infectious diseases. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely recognized to be one of the greatest threats to global public health in coming decades; and it has thus become a major topic of discussion among leading bioethicists and scholars from related disciplines including economics, epidemiology, law, and political theory. Topics covered in this volume include responsible use of antimicrobials; control of multi-resistant hospital-acquired infections; privacy and data collection; antibiotic use in childhood and at the end of life; agricultural and veterinary sources of resistance; resistant HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria; mandatory treatment; and trade-offs between current and future generations. As the first book focused on ethical issues associated with drug resistance, it makes a timely contribution to debates regarding practice and policy that are of crucial importance to global public health in the 21st century.
Avoiding infection has always been expensive. Some human populations escaped tropical infections by migrating into cold climates but then had to procure fuel, warm clothing, durable housing, and crops from a short growing season. Waterborne infections were averted by owning your own well or supporting a community reservoir. Everyone got vaccines in rich countries, while people in others got them later if at all. Antimicrobial agents seemed at first to be an exception. They did not need to be delivered through a cold chain and to everyone, as vaccines did. They had to be given only to infected patients and often then as relatively cheap injectables or pills off a shelf for only a few days to get astonishing cures. Antimicrobials not only were better than most other innovations but also reached more of the world’s people sooner. The problem appeared later. After each new antimicrobial became widely used, genes expressing resistance to it began to emerge and spread through bacterial populations. Patients infected with bacteria expressing such resistance genes then failed treatment and remained infected or died. Growing resistance to antimicrobial agents began to take away more and more of the cures that the agents had brought.
"In May 2015, the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly adopted the Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, which reflects the global consensus that AMR poses a profound threat to human health. One of the five strategic objectives of the Global action plan is to strengthen the evidence base through enhanced global surveillance and research. The Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) has been developed to facilitate and encourage a standardized approach to AMR surveillance globally and in turn support the implementation of the Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance. This manual addresses the early phase of implementation of GLASS, focussing on surveillance of resistance in common human bacterial pathogens. The intended readership of this publication is public health professionals and health authorities responsible for national AMR surveillance. It outlines the GLASS standards and describes the road map for implementation of the system between 2015 and 2019. Further development of GLASS will be based on the lessons learnt during this period"--Publisher's description.
Veterinary pharmaceuticals provide animals with the requisite, complete animal health care. The availability of safe and good quality medicines in the right amounts is needed in achieving optimum animal health care. The economic benefits of animal food products cannot be under-estimated. Veterinary pharmaceuticals are needed to meet the ever-growing demand of animal protein for the human population. However, their routine and unguarded use play significant roles in many public health issues, such as antimicrobial resistance. The practices, knowledge, and awareness needed on the use and application of veterinary pharmaceuticals amongst farmers, animal health professionals, microbiologists, and policy makers remain key in ensuring a safe and healthy food chain for all. In the field of veterinary medicine, canine practice is a challenge to veterinarians. In recent years, newer diagnostic methods and therapeutic protocols have been published on a regular basis. Along with the existing knowledge of important canine diseases like ascites, duodenal disorders, pericardial effusions, and canine mastitis, this book is supplemented with all the latest information. Discussion of duodenal disorders in dogs, including IBD and SIBO, is an important topic in day-to-day practice. Ascites and mastitis in dogs are also important topics and are discussed in this book. Each topic carries practical points for the diagnosis and management of important diseases of dogs. Hence, this book will be very useful for canine practitioners.
Making Peace with Microbes Public sanitation and antibiotic drugs have brought about historic increases in the human life span; they have also unintentionally produced new health crises by disrupting the intimate, age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and our environment. As a result, antibiotic resistance now ranks among the gravest medical problems of modern times. Good Germs, Bad Germs addresses not only this issue but also what has become known as the "hygiene hypothesis"— an argument that links the over-sanitation of modern life to now-epidemic increases in immune and other disorders. In telling the story of what went terribly wrong in our war on germs, Jessica Snyder Sachs explores our emerging understanding of the symbiotic relationship between the human body and its resident microbes—which outnumber its human cells by a factor of nine to one! The book also offers a hopeful look into a future in which antibiotics will be designed and used more wisely, and beyond that, to a day when we may replace antibacterial drugs and cleansers with bacterial ones—each custom-designed for maximum health benefits.
During the post-World War II "wonder drug" revolution, antibiotics were viewed as a panacea for mastering infectious disease. This book narrates the far-reaching history of antibiotics, focusing particularly on reform efforts that attempted to fundamentally change how antibiotics are developed and prescribed
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates “Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —Melinda Gates "Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. --- “This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance...Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.
"I would definitely recommend this book to all staff with an interest and involvement in intravenous drug therapy." —The Pharmaceutical Journal "There is no doubt that nurses will find this small book useful. It should be available for consultation in any clinical area where drugs are administered to patients by the injectable routes." —Journal of Clinical Nursing The safe administration of injectable medicines is key to patient safety. The NPSA recognises the use of injectable medicines is a high risk activity and recommends written information about injectables to be available at the point of preparation. The UCL Hospitals Injectable Medicines Administration Guide is a practical, accessible guide covering many important aspects of administering medicines by injection. It provides clear, concise information on the preparation and administration of over 245 injectable medicines for adults, paediatrics and neonates. It is an essential resource for nurses and other healthcare professionals: it provides the key information and advice needed for the safe and effective administration of injectable medicines. The Guide’s introductory section provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of injectable therapy, including the risks and benefits of IV administration, infusion devices, and pharmaceutical aspects of injectable therapy. For each drug the alphabetically tabulated monographs provide: A practical method of preparation and administration via the IV, IM and SC routes, with risk reduction in mind at every step Expert advice from the team of specialist pharmacists at UCLH to ensure safe and pragmatic use of each medicine Monitoring advice for the management of reactions that may occur during administration Y-site and syringe driver compatibility data Minimum infusion volume data for fluid restricted patients Extravasation warnings, pH, sodium content, displacement values, stability and flush data New to this edition: 40 new monographs including recently marketed, unlicensed, rarely used and specialist medicines Detailed advice for the administration of high risk medicines such as heparin, with access to UCLH’s medicine related guidelines at www.wiley.com/go/UCLH A colour-coded NPSA risk assessment for every mode of administration for every medicine, to highlight the safest method of administration A user guide and tutorial to give new readers confidence in using and understanding the Guide Revised chapters on administration methods and devices, aseptic non-touch technique, and latex allergy Fully revised and expanded Y-site compatibility section Spiral binding to allow the book to be left open at the relevant page The Guide is also available electronically at www.uclhguide.com.