Each November, World Antibiotic Awareness Week aims to increase global awareness of antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.
Panellists at the event entitled “One Health Approach in tackling Antimicrobial Resistance” discussed the contribution of widespread use of antibiotics in livestock farming to antimicrobial resistance and the need to develop innovative strategies for facilitating and advancing smarter approaches to the use of antibiotics in agriculture. The meeting was attended by senior government officials and senior representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offices in Tanzania.
Vera Mugittu, Joyce Tait, Geoff Banda and Ann Bruce are part of the ESRC-funded team of researchers working on the project “Diagnostic innovation and livestock” (DIAL). The project is led by Henry Buller at the University of Exeter and aims to understand how rapid diagnostic tests can support sustainable antibiotic use in farm animals.