Masterarbeit

Antimicrobial Resistance - An analysis of the current situation with a special focus on policy approaches and regulations in the European Union, the United States and on the part of the WHO to prevent an escalation of the situation ***

Astrid Maeder-Jeske (2019)

Summary
Language: English
Sir Alexander Fleming warned in a 1945 interview with the New York Times on the occasion of the Nobel Prize ceremony for his discovery of penicillin that misuse and overuse of the drug could result in selection for resistant bacteria. This scenario has become reality within a short laps of time. If no action is taken, it has been estimated that drug-resistant infections will globally kill 10 million people a year by 2050 and key medical procedures like caesarean sections, joint replacements or chemotherapy for cancer could become too dangerous to perform. But politicians, governments and responsible institutions around the world are aware of the worrying situation and about the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance for several years now. A process of rethinking the use of antibiotics has begun and many strategies and measures have been initiated to avert the scenario of a “post-antibiotic era”. In 2015, the WHO released the Global Action Plan, which outlines five core actions to combat antimicrobial resistance. After giving an overview over the global current situation regarding antimicrobial resistance this Master Thesis examines the measures and regulations introduced to implement these five actions of the WHO Global Action Plan. The focus here is on the European Union, the United States and the WHO itself. These regions respectively institutions are among the world’s leading players in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Finally, an attempt is made to critically examine the measures that have been taken up to now and assess their impact so far. And some alternate suggestions and solution proposals are introduced that have not yet been implemented and that offer additional possibilities for improving the situation.
Pages: 78