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Dear Colleague, Just a month following release of the Drug Resistance Working Group’s report, I am happy to say that our recommendations are moving forward. I describe some of the early progress below in the monthly column. There has been plenty of drug resistance news this summer – some of it good, but most of it alarming. I am certain you are thinking about the ramifications of the NDM – 1 gene that confers resistance to almost all antibiotics and can be easily transmitted between bacteria, reported in the recent Lancet Infectious Diseases article. The superbug has been traced to several developing countries with attendant and unhelpful finger-pointing and backlash. It once again highlights the urgent need for a global system to identify and report on resistant strains. As we recommend in the CGD Working Group report, a good start would be clearer and more aggressive use of the International Health Regulations to encourage local and national health authorities to be alert and responsive to drug resistance, not just the international movement of a small group of disease strains. To date, the superbug has been found in countries with strong surveillance systems, such as Australia, Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands and Sweden. How can we be sure of the magnitude of this problem or of other resistant bugs in countries with inadequate systems in place? In other news, the XVIIIth International AIDS Conference was held in Vienna last month. According to CGD colleagues that attended the conference, concern about growing ARV resistance was a dominant thread of conversation in the hallways. Thanks to the successful CAPRISA trial for HIV/AIDS prevention using a Tenofivir-based microbicide gel, there was much discussion about how resistance to the drug might be affected. Further evidence highlighting the need for more in-depth patient-provider interaction about adherence to HIV medicines and avoidance of HIV drug resistance was also presented at the Conference. It’s good news when an important AIDS breakthrough can also bring greater attention and scientific resources to look at drug resistance. See my colleague, Nandini Oomman’s, blog for more about the Conference. As always, we welcome your thoughts at [email protected]. Regards, Rachel Nugent |
WORKING GROUP UPDATERead an editorial by DRWG member Iruka Okeke and chair Rachel Nugent: “When medicines fail: recommendations for curbing antibiotic resistance” J Infect Dev Ctries RECENT / UPCOMING EventsCGD at React conferenceCGD will sponsor a side event at the September 6-8 ReACT Conference in Uppsala on “The Global Need for Effective Antibiotics - Moving Towards Concerted Action.” The meeting will bring together potential partners in a Global Partnership to Improve Medicines Prescribing, Dispensing and Use for a discussion on modalities and objectives of the Global Partnership. Please email and let us know if you will be in Uppsala and are interested in attending this organizing meeting. CALL FOR PAPERSDownload a preliminary announcement for the Third International Conference on Improving Use of Medicines (ICIUM 2011), April 10-14, 2011 in Alexandria, Egypt RESISTANCE RELATED JOBSPartner resourcesAbout CGDCGD is an independent think tank that works to reduce global poverty and inequality by encouraging policy change in the U.S. and other rich countries through rigorous research and active engagement with the policy community. |
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