The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched surveillance to assess the extent of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in healthy people across the country.
Up to 2,000 people will be invited to submit stool samples and nose and throat swabs for the study, which will help scientists understand more about the factors influencing bacteria in our body. By understanding more about the drivers of AMR in the community, we will better be able to design ways to reduce antimicrobial resistant infections.
A large part of AMR understanding is based on bloodstream infections in hospitalised patients - infections at the most severe end of the spectrum. However, everyone has bacteria in their bodies and some of these bacteria may be antibiotic resistant. Often these bacteria won't cause any harm, unless they get into a part of the body they shouldn't be - like the urinary tract or lungs, or if they spread to other people.
Through the surveillance study, UKHSA scientists seek to understand more about the levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria found in the general population, including carbapenem-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBLs), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) amongst others, in humans across England.
The study will also explore the prevalence of the fungus Candida auris in the community. The surveillance will also enable UKHSA to compare the change in prevalence of AMR in the population compared to a previous study in 2014 focused on ESBLs.
The work builds on UKHSA's extensive AMR surveillance programme and aims to further the understanding of how AMR impacts different segments of society, to enable the design of better ways to tackle AMR, tailored to different populations if needed.
The study will look at age, sex, ethnicity, and geographical location to understand if there are any key differences between different demographics. It will also consider different risk factors for AMR, including:
- travel
- diet
- healthcare
