Linda Bester (South Africa)
Todd Callaway (USA)
Tom Edrington (USA)
Stanny Geerts (Belgium)
Ken Genovese (USA)
Ian M. Gould (Aberdeen, UK)
Roger Harvey (USA)
Albert Lastovica (South Africa)
Tanguy Marcotty (Belgium)
David Nisbet (USA)
Chidi V Nweneka (The Gambia)
Morgan Scott (USA)
Gabor Ternak (Hungary)
Peter Van den Bossche (Belgium)
Introduction
For the past decades, the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance has been increasingly described in human pathogens and flora. The very intensive and irrational use of antibiotics world wide is one of the main contributing factors identified. More recently, also in livestock and husbandry animals alarming figures of bacterial resistance have been reported. Heavy and irrational use of antibiotics in curative, prophylactic or growth promotor settings is also in animal health closely linked with the problem of resistance.
Whenever these animals enter the food chain, their resistant flora or pathogens might as well, hence causing food related outbreaks e.g. Campylobacter, Salmonella, E coli. Other pathogens or colonising bacteria might be transmitted directly between the living animal and the farmer or his environment (e.g. MRSA).
Bacterial resistance and antibiotic use in humans and animals have been described world wide, especially in industrialized settings. However, this still leaves many knowledge gaps on the size and aspect of the problem in several particular places e.g. low resources, rural settings, new outbreaks etc…
Enhanced education on and regulation of the use of antibiotics in both human and animal settings appear to be essential components in containing the increasing problem of world wide resistance. However, the problem is very complex and dynamic, and solutions will need to be multifaceted.
Aims
To enhance the mutual knowledge on epidemiology of bacterial resistance and antibiotic usage in both human and animal settings, especially in less described regions e.g. sub Saharan Africa.
To study particular aspects of the interface between the human and animal setting e.g. animal-human transmission of resistance, the use of common antibiotics, infection control measures etc…
To create a virtual discussion forum for human and animal bacterial resistance researchers alike world wide
2011
