Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) among bacterial pathogens is reaching an all-time high and this has been characterised as a ‘silent tsunami’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). A careful examination of approaches for countering the multifaceted complex problem of multidrug-resistant pathogens is needed, as the rise of antibiotic failure poses a severe threat to global health. There is growing concern that this failure is not solely driven by stable antibiotic resistance but also by a subpopulation of transiently non-growing, antibiotic tolerant bacteria, that are thought to seed relapsing infections. Bacterial pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella, Shigella, and pathogenic Escherichia coli (Enteropathogenic E. coli and Enterohemorrhagic E. coli) cause life-threatening diseases, particularly in young children and immuno-compromised individuals. Given this predicament, we are investigating health linkages between humans, animals, and their shared environments.