What's superbugging the humans?

Authors: Turnidge J
Publication: Proceedings of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Annual Conferences, Volume 2014 AVA Annual Conference, Perth, Issue History / Public Health, May 2014
Publisher: Australian Veterinary Association

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Abstract: Although Australia has lower rates of antimicrobial resistance in human medicine compared to many other countries, it still has a range of significant resistances that impact directly on medical care both in the hospital and the community. In recent years there has been growing concern world-wide and in Australia about so-called ‘superbugs’, bacterial pathogens that have accumulated a significant number of resistance mechanisms. A few stories about of these ‘superbugs’ have reached the lay press, and in doing so have sometimes created the impression that multi-resistance is equivalent to increased virulence. Often, the opposite applies early in the evolution of multi-resistance, but experience in Australia has taught us that while multi-resistance can reduce bacterial fitness in the short term, with the passage of time some ‘superbugs’ will adapt to achieve the same degree of virulence as their susceptible predecessors and compete successfully with them. Australia does have resistance problems in some of its key human pathogens. What follows is a highlight of the main ‘superbugs’ currently troubling our community and our hospitals. The bulk of the information has been generated by the only extant surveillance program is human health in the Australia: the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (www.agargroup.org).1

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