When Victoria Pânzari from the Republic of Moldova was admitted to hospital, there was optimism that antibiotic treatment could help save her life. But her treatment turned out to be more complicated than she had imagined, leading to a 2-month drug-induced coma and 10 surgeries along the way.
“I was admitted to the Institute of Emergency Medicine in the capital city of Chisinau in a very serious condition, where I was diagnosed with a severe form of pancreatitis,” says Victoria as she recounts her experience with a drug-resistant infection. “The doctors prescribed antibiotic treatment. However, the antibiotic did not have the expected result and my condition worsened.”
Victoria’s health slowly improved only after multiple investigations by the laboratory of the National Agency for Public Health led to the identification of an effective antibiotic and a targeted therapy was initiated.
Victoria’s case is a classic example of the significant threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to people’s lives and well-being, underpinning the need for stronger efforts against AMR. To this end, WHO/Europe has launched a new resource guide for the implementation of the “Roadmap on antimicrobial resistance for the WHO European Region 2023–2030”. This interactive guide provides the relevant information and tools that can help Member States tailor interventions to their specific contexts and priorities.
“This resource guide reflects our strong belief that country-led action is crucial to the broader efforts to control AMR in our region,” says Robb Butler, Director of WHO/Europe’s Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health.
From evidence to action
In October 2023, the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region reaffirmed their commitment to take action against AMR by endorsing the Roadmap; accompanied by the AMR compass, a diagnostic tool to assess national capacity, to help the Region navigate through the complexity of addressing AMR. The roadmap includes 53 evidence-based interventions that are grouped under 5 action areas:
- infection prevention and control, and water, sanitation and hygiene
- environmental and social determinants
- stewardship
- community awareness and enabling behaviours
- access to medicines and health products.
The implementation of these action areas is supported by the following enabling areas:
- regulations and legislation
- governance and leadership
- laboratories
- workforce
- research, innovation and digital technology
- surveillance – data for action.
“We encourage Member States to use this guide to go from evidence to action, and focus their efforts and resources on priority interventions against AMR,” says Dr Danilo Lo Fo Wong, Regional Adviser for the Control of Antimicrobial Resistance.
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to drugs used to treat them, threatening the effectiveness of modern medicine and making the treatment of infections more difficult. In the European Region, AMR is directly responsible for 133 000 deaths each year and indirectly linked to 541 000 deaths.
It is projected that AMR could be responsible for 39 million deaths globally by 2050, thus countries need to accelerate their efforts to curb AMR urgently and collaboratively. Resources such as the latest WHO/Europe resource guide provide easy access to the current best and most promising interventions and practices to steer targeted action for greater health impact.