Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: One for All, and All for One

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 5510

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
University Medical Center, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24243, Saudi Arabia
Interests: Hajj; antimicrobial resistance; public health

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Guest Editor
Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Medicine at Ql-Qunfudah, Umm Al-Qura University, Qunfudah 21912, Saudi Arabia
Interests: bacteriophages; phage therapy; infectious diseases; antimicrobial resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At the end of the previous century, the discovery of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) added a burden to both the local and global health community. Tackling such an issue requires up-to-date evidence, research, and field experiences. Here, we present a Special Issue that focuses on methods, previous results, and active measurements to tackle AMR. This approach also includes the chance to dig deep into the mechanisms by which some organisms develop AMR. In presenting such academic works to the scientific community, our aim is to translate knowledge and set waypoints for future research.

Whenever viruses, bacteria, fungi or any medically relevant microorganisms develop resistance to treatment protocols, the aftermath is taxing to the health and medical profession. A minor sway from standard procedure, negligence in following guidelines, simply overlooking something due to overexertion, or burnout from long hours of work may result in spending considerably more than would have been spent in preventing such circumstances. Preventing the advancement of AMR is an important strategy to tackle the issue, such as promoting sanitation or improving immunity (e.g., vaccination). Several cutting-edge medical advancements are in the making, as seen with the testing of phages, lysins, or peptides to tackle AMR either through treatment or prevention.

Until such advancements are applicable, the health and medical profession is still actively tackling AMR through applying appropriate practices (e.g., guidelines and stewardship programs), conducting investigations (e.g., rapid testing or for surveillance), and improving health service infrastructure (addressing related health determinants). The way forward is to find new practical and affordable ways to tackle AMR as sustainable solutions.

Dr. Hamid Bokhary
Dr. Mohammed Imam
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • antimicrobial resistance
  • One Health
  • burden
  • health infrastructure
  • surveillance
  • appropriate/unnecessary practices
  • rapid test
  • vaccine
  • phage
  • developing treatment/pipeline

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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11 pages, 1972 KiB  
Article
The Distribution of Eight Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Streptococcus gordonii Strains Isolated from Dental Plaque as Oral Commensals
by Verónica Morales-Dorantes, Rubén Abraham Domínguez-Pérez, Rosa Martha Pérez-Serrano, Juan Carlos Solís-Sainz, Pablo García-Solís, León Francisco Espinosa-Cristóbal, Claudia Verónica Cabeza-Cabrera and José Luis Ayala-Herrera
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2023, 8(11), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8110499 - 16 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2222
Abstract
It has been proposed that oral commensal bacteria are potential reservoirs of a wide variety of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and could be the source of pathogenic bacteria; however, there is scarce information regarding this. In this study, three common streptococci of the [...] Read more.
It has been proposed that oral commensal bacteria are potential reservoirs of a wide variety of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and could be the source of pathogenic bacteria; however, there is scarce information regarding this. In this study, three common streptococci of the mitis group (S. oralis, S. sanguinis, and S. gordonii) isolated from dental plaque (DP) were screened to identify if they were frequent reservoirs of specific ARGs (blaTEM, cfxA, tetM, tetW, tetQ, ermA, ermB, and ermC). DP samples were collected from 80 adults; one part of the sample was cultured, and from the other part DNA was obtained for first screening of the three streptococci species and the ARGs of interest. Selected samples were plated and colonies were selected for molecular identification. Thirty identified species were screened for the presence of the ARGs. From those selected, all of the S. sanguinis and S. oralis carried at least three, while only 30% of S. gordonii strains carried three or more. The most prevalent were tetM in 73%, and blaTEM and tetW both in 66.6%. On the other hand, ermA and cfxA were not present. Oral streptococci from the mitis group could be considered frequent reservoirs of specifically tetM, blaTEM, and tetW. In contrast, these three species appear not to be reservoirs of ermA and cfxA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: One for All, and All for One)
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26 pages, 848 KiB  
Systematic Review
The Impact of Antifungal Stewardship on Clinical and Performance Measures: A Global Systematic Review
by Fares Albahar, Hamza Alhamad, Mohammad Abu Assab, Rana Abu-Farha, Lina Alawi and Sara Khaleel
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2024, 9(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9010008 - 29 Dec 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2735
Abstract
Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) have been proposed as an opportunity to optimize antifungal use. The antifungal resistance is a significant and emerging threat. The literature on antifungal stewardship (AFS) and its influence on performance and clinical outcome measures is scarce. This study [...] Read more.
Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) have been proposed as an opportunity to optimize antifungal use. The antifungal resistance is a significant and emerging threat. The literature on antifungal stewardship (AFS) and its influence on performance and clinical outcome measures is scarce. This study aimed to examine global evidence of the impact of AFS on patients and performance measures. Methods: The “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) was used for the flow of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion. PubMed and MEDLINE were searched using the term ‘‘antifungal stewardship’’ on 15 February 2023. Search terms included antifungal stewardship, antimicrobial stewardship, candida, candidemia, candiduria, and invasive fungal disease. Of the 1366 records, 1304 were removed since they did not describe an antifungal stewardship intervention. Among the 62 full texts assessed, 21 articles were excluded since they were non-interventional studies and did not include the outcome of interest. Thus, 41 articles were eligible for systematic review. Eligible studies were those that described an AFS program and evaluated clinical or performance measures. Results: Of the 41 included studies, the primary performance measure collected was antifungal consumption (22 of 41), and mortality (22 of 41), followed by length of stay (11 of 41) and cost (9 of 41). Most studies were single-center, quasi-experimental, with varying interventions across studies. The principal finding from most of the studies in this systematic review is a reduction in mortality expressed in different units and the use of antifungal agents (13 studies out of 22 reporting mortality). Antifungal consumption was significantly blunted or reduced following stewardship initiation (10 of 22). Comparing studies was impossible due to a lack of standard units, making conducting a meta-analysis unfeasible, which would be a limitation of our study. Conclusion: It has been shown that AFS interventions may improve antifungal consumption and other performance measures. According to available published studies, antifungal consumption and mortality appear to be the possible performance measures to evaluate the impact of AFS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: One for All, and All for One)
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