FRONTIER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE FIGHT OF THE century
WITH DRUG-RESISTANT INFECTIONS PREDICTED TO KILL 10 MILLION PEOPLE A YEAR BY 2050 IF NO ACTION IS TAKEN, ONE OF SURREY’S MAIN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES IS TO BRING URGENTLY-NEEDED SOLUTIONS IN THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR).
AMR – where a bacterium, fungus, parasite or virus resists the effects of antimicrobials originally used to treat it – has the potential to spell the end of modern medicine, according to England’s Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies. Already, 700,000 people are dying every year around the world due to infections which are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, including tuberculosis, HIV and malaria. Without effective antibiotics, the success of major surgery and chemotherapy treatment is compromised, while even minor operations could become high-risk procedures.
Surrey is playing an important role in tackling this challenge. Both the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Biosciences and Medicine are part of high-profile collaborative projects in the field, while Surrey alumnus Lord Jim O’Neill chaired the Government’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance – a comprehensive action plan for the world to prevent drug-resistant infections and defeat the rising threat of superbugs.
A ‘ONE HEALTH’ PHILOSOPHY
Professor Roberto La Ragione, Head of Pathology and Infectious Diseases in Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine, says: “The overuse and misuse of antibiotics is both a veterinary and medical issue. Infections known as ‘zoonoses’ which spread from animals to humans – such as E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and TB which can carry AMR genes – pose a significant threat to public health across the world.”
Better collaboration between the veterinary and medical professions is therefore urgently required. Tackling this global challenge, the Vet School is focused on finding out how AMR resistance happens, how AMR spreads, and whether pathogens which become resistant to antibiotics are inherently fitter. The work has recently been boosted by an award of €2m from the European Commission as part of a €90m pan-European project between 39 acclaimed veterinary and medical laboratories.
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Forever Surrey 2019
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