Antimicrobial Awareness Week

The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week take place 18-24 November 2022.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat. Researchers estimated that AMR in bacteria caused an estimated 1.27 million deaths in 20191.

A global action plan to tackle the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines was endorsed at the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2015. One of the key objectives of the plan is to improve awareness and understanding of AMR through effective communication, education and training.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is a global campaign that is celebrated annually to improve awareness and understanding of AMR and encourage best practices among the public, One Health stakeholders and policymakers, who all play a critical role in reducing the further emergence and spread of AMR.

This year, the theme of WAAW is “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together.” We call on all sectors to encourage the prudent use of antimicrobials and to strengthen preventive measures addressing AMR, working together collaboratively through a One Health approach.

U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week is an annual one-week observance coinciding with the global awareness effort that gives participating organizations an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance.

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…Resources from the U.S. CDC

• Healthcare Professionals: Remind your patients that antibiotics are only needed to treat certain infections caused by bacteria, not viruses like those that cause COVID-19. https://bit.ly/3k6EfOe
• HCPs: Be antibiotics aware by telling patients why they don’t need antibiotics for a virus. https://bit.ly/3BRx1pl
• Healthcare Professionals: Protect your patients. Remember to prescribe the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration, and at the right time. https://bit.ly/3k6EfOe
• Healthcare Professionals: Talk to your patients about when antibiotics are and aren’t needed, and discuss possible side effects such as C. diff, allergic reactions, and antibiotic-resistant infections. CDC has resources to help you educate your patients. https://bit.ly/3BRx1pl

Twitter

• #Antibiotics aren’t needed for and won’t help treat colds, #flu, or #COVID19. #BeAntibioticsAware and talk to your #HCP: https://bit.ly/3l8KFyd #USAAW21
• Being #antibiotics aware = knowing that antibiotics aren’t needed for many #sinus infections and some ear #infections. https://bit.ly/3rKkb7M #BeAntibioticsAware #USAAW21
• During U.S. #AntibioticAwareness Week, #BeAntibioticsAware and learn when #antibiotics are needed and when they’re not. https://bit.ly/3l8KFyd #USAAW21
• When #antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and the side effects could still cause harm. Learn more. https://bit.ly/3l8KFyd #BeAntibioticsAware #USAAW21
• Taking #antibiotics only when needed is one thing you can do to help fight #antibioticresistance. https://bit.ly/3laEVnM #USAAW21 #BeAntibioticsAware
• Anytime #antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and lead to #AntibioticResistance. #BeAntibioticsAware! https://bit.ly/3l8KFyd #USAAW21
• We’re proud to be a #BeAntibioticsAware partner for U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week! Learn how you can participate: https://bit.ly/3042qDw#USAAW21

Antibiotics Quiz

• Be an antibiotics whiz. Test your knowledge about antibiotics.

Sepsis Resources

• Get Ahead of Sepsis educational effort

Stewardship Report

• Current Report: Antibiotic Use in the United States: Progress and Opportunities
• Past Antibiotic Prescribing and Use Reports

Core Elements

• The Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship
• The Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs
• The Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship at Small and Critical Access Hospitals
• The Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes
• The Core Elements of Human Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in Resource-Limited Settings [PDF – 28 pages]

Spanish Resources

Information for patients on antibiotic use and resistance in Spanish (Recursos educativos para pacientes y profesionales de atención médica.)

Antibiotic Stewardship Training

This interactive web-based activity contains four sections designed to help physicians optimize antibiotic use to combat antibiotic resistance and improve healthcare quality and patient safety.

CDC’s Antibiotic Stewardship Training Series

Information on specific topics related to antibiotic resistance

• Antibiotic Resistance
• Antibiotic Resistance Questions and Answers
• Antibiotic Resistance and Food Safety
• Antibiotic-resistant Gonorrhea
• Antibiotic-resistant Tuberculosis

Sources: World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP)