They look like something out of nightmare, but these so-called ‘spider viruses’ occur naturally, and could be a powerful new weapon in tackling the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, have a remarkable and currently untapped …
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - when microbes evolve to resist the medicines designed to kill them - is an urgent global threat. In England, resistant infections rose by 4% in 2022 after decreasing during the pandemic. Action is needed to curb …
Antimicrobial drugs are commonly used. We have all heard of antibiotics, which fight bacteria, but there are also antifungals, antivirals and antiparasitics that fight fungi, viruses and parasites, respectively. The more we use these drugs, the less effective they become …
Welcome to the second edition of PHE’s Health Matters, a resource for public health professionals, which brings together important facts, figures and evidence of effective interventions to tackle major public health problems. This time we are focusing on one of …
In November, PHE published the second annual ESPAUR report describing the surveillance of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use in England. The report brings together three crucial data sets, some of which weren’t previously in the public domain: antibiotic prescribing in …
We hope that through the full range of Health Matters antimicrobial resistance content we have made a strong case for action by professionals at local level. The message to individuals/patients is clear and the need for continued national and international …
In 2012, the Chief Medical Officer for England published the first ever 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy. A UK High Level Steering Group followed, which acts as the system steward, providing challenge and ensuring all recommendations are enacted. Public Health …
At end of February nurses and midwives from both PHE and the Department of Health ran a week of action linked to NHS Change Day, focusing on health protection and building resilience. We focused on the public health challenges of …
Over the past 70 years antibiotics have been hugely important in our defence against infectious diseases caused by bacteria. However, bacterial resistance to antibiotics is becoming a global public health problem and if we are to develop new treatments for …
Antibiotics have been around for nearly 70 years. Many people still alive today may remember them first being used to treat casualties from the Second World War. Around 1944 a newspaper billboard proclaimed that ‘Penicillin cures gonorrhoea in four hours …
