Antimicrobial resistance seminar

During the World of Industry, Technology & Science, Maarten van Dongen, John Rossen and Pieter-Jan Haas discussed the growing impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the challenges for healthcare and recent innovations in diagnostics. Their message was clear: to effectively combat AMR, global collaboration, a multidisciplinary approach and technological advancements are essential.

Global cooperation

Maarten van Dongen, founder of AMR Insights, emphasizes that AMR is a growing global problem. Bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics, leading to infections that are difficult to treat. Van Dongen calls AMR a one health problem that affects all sectors: from human and veterinary medicine to agriculture and the environment.

He outlines the impact with some shocking figures: five million people die each year as a result of AMR, and without drastic measures that number could double by 2050. He calls for international cooperation and presents six key strategies, including the responsible use of antibiotics, better hygiene, vaccination, improved diagnostics and alternative therapies such as bacteriophages.

Infection diagnostics

Professor John Rossen, professor of molecular microbiology at Isala Zwolle and the UMCG, will delve deeper into innovative diagnostic technologies. He will discuss the power of metagenomics, which analyses the genetic material of all microorganisms in a sample. This offers the possibility of detecting new and unknown infections faster.

Rossen illustrates this with an example: a rare bacterium was discovered in a patient after standard tests failed to determine the cause, thanks to metagenomics. Due to the enormous amount of data that this technique produces, artificial intelligence is essential to quickly recognize patterns and resistance mechanisms. Rossen advocates further standardization to make the technique widely accessible. He then points to the potential of metagenomics to predict outbreaks in, for example, hospital wastewater in a timely manner.

Bacteriophages

Medical microbiologist Pieter-Jan Haas of the UMC Utrecht highlights bacteriophages as a promising addition to antibiotics. These viruses are able to specifically attack bacteria and may be able to combat antibiotic-resistant infections without side effects.

Haas points out the challenges of clinical testing of phages: trials are complex due to the short shelf life of phages and the potential for bacteria to develop resistance to phages. He mentions the need for well-designed clinical studies to establish the effectiveness of bacteriophages and points to the promising results achieved so far. He adds that much of the research is still in an experimental stage.

Shared responsibility

The seminar ends with a strong call for multidisciplinary and global efforts to combat AMR. The combination of new diagnostic possibilities such as metagenomics and promising therapies such as bacteriophages offers perspective. Only through collaboration and continuous innovation can we limit the impact of antimicrobial resistance on society. The fight against AMR is a shared responsibility, in which technology, research and policy reinforce each other.