The fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) came into focus as experts discussed risks, prevention measures and advances during a talk session yesterday.
During the talk, Medical Affairs Associate from BIOMERIEUX Dr Laura Ho highlighted that in 2019, Brunei Darussalam saw 38 fatalities attributed to AMR and 144 deaths linked to AMR.
She also noted that the Sultanate has the 116th highest age-standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population associated with AMR among 204 countries.
Several other talks were also held, including one on ‘Antimicrobial Reporting and Standardised Antibiogram Reporting Based on CLSI Guidelines’ by Dr Theresa Yap and ‘Antimicrobial Resistance Phenotypes and Communicating about Multidrug Resistant Organisms under AMS Practices’ by Brett Crawley.
Participants joining the talk include healthcare professionals, scientific experts and laboratory personnel from local government and private hospital.
The talk was organised by local distributor Mc Quipp Technisell Marketing Sdn Bhd and supported by BIOMERIEUX, an intro-vitro diagnostics company.
Mc Quipp Technisell Marketing Manager, Rachel Lim Yee Wei said that the symposium aimed to share knowledge and expertise, in addressing the growing threat of AMR.
She added that one major contributing factor is the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in healthcare and therefore antimicrobial stewardship plays an important role in preserving the efficacy of existing antibiotics, ensuring the right treatment is provided at the right time. – Rokiah Mahmud
