Dr Phoebe Williams warns about the worsening antimicrobial resistance in South-East Asian and Pacific countries, urging for more funding to find antibiotic options for children and babies.
Dr Phoebe Williams first became concerned about antimicrobial resistance in 2017, while working on a PhD in Kenya.
The problem is right on Australia’s doorstep, said lead author of the research, University of Sydney infectious disease specialist and paediatrician Dr Phoebe Williams, as infections that withstand antibiotics are becoming more common in Australia. “By 2050, AMR will kill more people than cancer globally ... the speed with which it’s happening is surprising all of us.”Doing rounds in hospital wards in cities such as Jakarta, Williams often sees 20 babies admitted at any one time with treatment-resistant infections. The mortality rate is about 75 per cent.
Following the first extraction of penicillin from the fuzz of petri dish mould in 1928, there was a rush of newly discovered antibiotics that for decades outpaced disease-causing bacteria’s ability to evolve resistance. That pace has now reversed, and the lack of new options is particularly dire for children.
Antimicrobial Resistance South-East Asia Pacific Countries Antibiotics Children Babies Pneumonia Meningitis Sepsis Medical Progress Australia Bacterial Disease
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