According to the World Health Organisation (2020), World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) aims to increase the awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.
The World Health Organisation (2020) states that antimicrobials are used to fight diseases in humans, animals and plants and include antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic medicines.
NPS Medicine Wise (www.nps.org.au, 2019) further explains that as an example, antibiotics kill bacteria, but they cannot kill viral infections like colds and flu. Often, they are used incorrectly for those illnesses, leading to antibiotic resistance.
Antimicrobal resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites resist the effects of medications, making common infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death (WHO, 2020).
Whilst antibiotics have their place and are effective when correctly used, we all have a part to play in helping to preserve the power of antibiotics with our knowledge.