cross-jurisdictional-surveillance-of-drug-resistant-infections-across-northern-australia-a-system-level-approach-to-surveillance-and-response

Cross jurisdictional surveillance of drug resistant infections across northern Australia: a system-level approach to surveillance and response

Turning the tide on drug resistance in northern Australia: using data to inform policy and practice

Infections that no longer respond to treatment are increasingly common across the world and within Australia. Patients infected with drug-resistant infections have significantly worst health outcomes and pose an additional economic burden on the healthcare system, compared to those in whom antibiotic treatment has been successful. However, much of our current understanding of the health and economic impact of drug-resistant infections is limited to patients who are admitted to a hospital, rather than any other setting such as community or primary care networks. This is largely driven by poor data availability and access.

A holistic approach is necessary to fully understand and appreciate the magnitude of the impact of drug-resistant infections in Australia. The aim of my fellowship is to establish a surveillance system which comprises data collection, reporting and response across three jurisdictions.

This surveillance system aims to be centrally coordinated, cross-jurisdictional and to produce data that are useful and timely. It will be the first attempt to provide key stakeholders with data on drug-resistant infections so that they can use it for planning, prevention and control. Antibiotic resistance does not respect jurisdictional borders. To date, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is reported for each jurisdiction separately and having the opportunity to compare and contrast resistance across the regions is a first and exciting opportunity of this research program.

Ultimately, embedding a coordinated surveillancesystem such as this across the north will better place this region and the rest of Australia to respond effectively to emerging threats from endemic drug resistant infections that are endemic to the Asia Pacific region.

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  • Dr Teresa Wozniak

  • Associate Professor Anna Ralph

  • Menzies School of Health Research

  • January - December 2018

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