As World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2024 continues to raise global awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), CAMO-Net (Centres for Antimicrobial Optimisation Network) is making strides in addressing AMR. Our work is being carried out across the world and aligns with one of this year’s WAAW themes to “act now” on AMR. With each of CAMO-Net’s sites driving important research, policy engagement, and capacity strengthening activities, let’s take a look at some of the highlights across our five national hubs.
Brazil
In Brazil, CAMO-Net is focusing on improving the rational prescribing of antimicrobials, a crucial step in addressing AMR. The project has seen the successful validation of a prescribing guideline in São Caetano do Sul, a municipality within the great São Paulo region. This guideline has now been adopted across the municipality’s health services. The guideline has also been translated into English and Spanish, aiming to spread the work throughout Latin America and beyond.
Brazil has been actively engaging with stakeholders, including health workers, local authorities, and the public. The project team has received strong support from local government bodies and health services, such as the Secretary of Health of São Caetano do Sul. Collaboration between CAMO-Net Brazil and local universities, as well as national entities like the Water & Sewage Company (SAESA), is helping to drive efforts to optimise antibiotic prescribing practices.
India
The CAMO-Net India national hub sites at Amrita University and the Post Graduate Institute Chandigarh are focused on tackling AMR through technological, supply chain, and socio-cultural innovations. Key projects include investigating antimicrobial supply chain interruptions to inform policy, developing point-of-care diagnostic tools for optimised prescribing, enhancing clinical decision support systems (CDSS) to improve antimicrobial dosing, and addressing the socio-cultural drivers of antibiotic use. The hubs are also contributing to the CAMO-Global Data Resource, which aims to create a global platform for antimicrobial optimisation data. These efforts aim to improve healthcare outcomes in India and have broader global implications for AMR management.
South Africa
In South Africa, the CAMO-Net team has been focused on addressing the socio-demographic and cultural factors influencing antibiotic use. Research is underway at public sector hospitals in the Western Cape, including Mitchell’s Plain Hospital, with plans to extend to Groote Schuur Tertiary Hospital.
CAMO-Net South Africa is also working on a high-level AMR data system and dashboard for the Western Cape, with spatial analyses underway to map antibiotic use at the district and suburb levels. This system will enable a better understanding of healthcare access, provision, and the links between AMR and socio-demographic factors. Stakeholder engagement, including workshops with community leaders, healthcare professionals, and policy experts, continues to shape the direction of the research.
CAMO-Net South Africa also leads on work with India on projects looking at gender and AMR, and works closely with Eh!Woza, an HIV/TB engagement collaboration between South African biomedical researchers, a conceptual artist, an NGO, and youth from Khayelitsha.
Uganda
CAMO-Net Uganda is advancing efforts to address AMR through a series of projects focusing on antibiotic prescribing, particularly among People Living with HIV (PLWH). The Infectious Diseases Institute Clinics in Kampala are currently conducting a study to investigate antibiotic prescribing patterns within routine cohorts of PLWH.
Uganda is also exploring innovative approaches to optimise antibiotic therapy in HIV patients, addressing related co-morbidities and polypharmacy. Another key project involves using a data-driven approach to optimise antibiotic use across nine study sites. Secondary data collection and analysis are ongoing, with data models and applications already developed to support a future national AMR data warehouse.
Despite challenges related to gaps in national and regional data, CAMO-Net Uganda’s AMR research continue to progress. Next steps include capacity-building activities to engage policymakers on AMR evidence.
UK
The UK national hub sites are based at the University of Liverpool and Imperial College London. The teams work closely together on projects and meet regularly to collaborate build research capacity across the two cities.
At Imperial, the team are advancing antimicrobial optimisation through innovative data-driven methods to improve infection management, particularly in vulnerable populations such as neonates. Key projects include the development of a PCR-based methodology to rapidly identify antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes, enhancing treatment accuracy, and real-time monitoring using point-of-care lateral flow assays to optimise antimicrobial dosing. Additionally, the London site focuses on addressing inequities in antimicrobial use across healthcare settings, using data to improve prescribing practices and reduce AMR. These initiatives aim to deliver more effective treatments, better patient outcomes, and a more equitable healthcare system, contributing to global efforts to tackle AMR.
At Liverpool, the team are advancing antimicrobial stewardship through data-driven models, AI, and experimental pharmacology. Key projects include optimising antimicrobial susceptibility testing using healthcare data and Bayesian methods to improve patient outcomes and reduce AMR risks, as well as modeling bloodstream infections to inform system-wide healthcare decisions. Additionally, a digital signatures of common infection syndromes project uses machine learning to enhance diagnostic accuracy, while experimental pharmacology studies drug-pathogen interactions to inform global infection management. Collaborations with National Health Service (NHS) partners ensure that these innovations are integrated into healthcare practice, improving patient care and resource efficiency.
Shadow sites and tech centres
Our work is supported by experts in our shadow sites and technical support and development centres. CAMO-Net colleagues based in Ghana, Malawi, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Timor-Leste also produce important research with local expertise, from point of care molecular diagnostics in sub-Saharan Africa to mapping the spread of infections in Bangladesh.
Next steps and moving forward With the recent United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on AMR, and WAAW 2024 garnering more attention, antimicrobial resistance awareness is growing. Meanwhile, our efforts to address AMR are gathering momentum. Over the coming months, CAMO-Net will continue to focus on its important research, collecting and analysing data, engaging with stakeholders, and promoting evidence-based interventions to tackle AMR. By building capacity at both local and national levels, and aligning with global AMR efforts, CAMO-Net is well-positioned to contribute to a world where antimicrobial resistance is managed effectively.
