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Antimicrobial use in food animals selects for antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, which can spread to people. Reducing use of antimicrobials-particularly those deemed to be critically important for human medicine-in food production animals continues to be an important step for preserving the benefits of these antimicrobials for people. The World Health Organization ranking of antimicrobials according to their relative importance in human medicine was recently updated. Antimicrobials considered the highest priority among the critically important antimicrobials were quinolones, third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, macrolides and ketolides, and glycopeptides. The updated ranking allows stakeholders in the agriculture sector and regulatory agencies to focus risk management efforts on drugs used in food animals that are the most important to human medicine. In particular, the current large-scale use of fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and third-generation cephalosporins and any potential use of glycopeptides and carbapenems need to be addressed urgently.

Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs may contribute to the transmission of influenza-like illness (ILI) to colleagues and susceptible patients by working while sick (presenteeism). The present study aimed to explore the views and behavior of HCWs and non-HCWs towards the phenomenon of working while experiencing ILI. Methods The study was a cross-sectional online survey conducted between October 2018 and January 2019 to explore sickness presenteeism and the behaviour of HCWs and non-HCWs

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to global health. Understanding the emergence, evolution, and transmission of individual antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is essential to develop sustainable strategies combatting this threat. Here, we use metagenomic sequencing to analyse ARGs in 757 sewage samples from 243 cities in 101 countries, collected from 2016 to 2019. We find regional patterns in resistomes, and these differ between subsets corresponding to drug classes and are partly driven by taxonomic variation. The genetic environments of 49 common ARGs are highly diverse, with most common ARGs carried by multiple distinct genomic contexts globally and sometimes on plasmids. Analysis of flanking sequence revealed ARG-specific patterns of dispersal limitation and global transmission. Our data furthermore suggest certain geographies are more prone to transmission events and should receive additional attention.

‘Superbugs’, bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics, have been in numerous media headlines, raising awareness of antibiotic resistance and leading to multiple action plans from policymakers worldwide. However, many commonly used terms, such as ‘the war against superbugs’, risk misleading people to request ‘new’ or ‘stronger’ antibiotics from their doctors, veterinary surgeons or pharmacists, rather than addressing a fundamental issue: the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals. Simple measures of antibiotic consumption are needed for mass communication. In this article, we describe the concept of the ‘antibiotic footprint’ as a tool to communicate to the public the magnitude of antibiotic use in humans, animals and industry, and how it could support the reduction of overuse and misuse of antibiotics worldwide. We propose that people need to make appropriate changes in behaviour that reduce their direct and indirect consumption of antibiotics.

Fluoroquinolone resistance was detected in 12 of 370 Australian human Campylobacter isolates; 10 of these were travel-associated, and for 2 isolates travel status was unknown. No resistance was found in isolates known to be locally acquired. In Australia, fluoroquinolones have not been licensed for use in food production animals, a policy that may have relevance for countries with fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter.

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