A roadmap for sustainably governing the global antimicrobial commons
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-16-2019
ISSN
0140-6736
Publisher
Elsevier
Language
en-US
Abstract
Antimicrobials are needed to treat deadly infections, enable life-saving medical procedures, and manage disease in food production. But antimicrobials come with a trade-off: their use accelerates antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which diminishes the future effectiveness of these medicines. This trade-off makes “antimicrobial effectiveness” a precious global common-pool resource that must be collectively protected. Yet antimicrobials have been used inappropriately for decades. In too many circumstances, antimicrobials are deployed to compensate for inadequate infection prevention and control (IPC) in both human health and food production, instead of implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and IPC measures such as preventing hospital overcrowding and ensuring good equipment sterilisation practices. In the process, this precious resource has been jeopardised.
Recommended Citation
Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, Manica Balasegaram, Pete Boriello, Jeremy Farrar, Alberto Giubilini, Mark Harrison, Marie-Paule Kieny, Claas Kirchhelle, Joanne Liu, Kevin Outterson, Muhammad A. Pate, Mathieu Poirier, John-Arne Røttingen, Julian Savulescu, Rebecca Sugden, Visanu Thamlikitkul, Isaac Weldon, Sally Davies & Steven J. Hoffman,
A roadmap for sustainably governing the global antimicrobial commons
,
in
394
The Lancet
1788
(2019).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3442
