It’s CDC and World Antimicrobial Awareness Week!
Every year, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and encourage best practices among the general public, health workers, and policy makers to stop the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. The theme for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2020 is “United to preserve antimicrobials.”
Your Cooper Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) team is working hard on events for you!
You will see us throughout the week visiting different areas of the hospital, urgent care locations, and outpatient clinics, championing antibiotic awareness. We will distribute educational materials and stickers, do educational talks, and hand out “Stewardship Stars” to those who have demonstrated exemplary stewardship.
Watch for our updates throughout the week on Pulse+ and Twitter @CooperIDtweets!
If you have questions, or specific requests for programming, please email asp@cooperhealth.edu
Some key messages from the CDC:
• Antibiotics can save lives. When a patient needs antibiotics, the benefits outweigh the risks of side effects and antibiotic resistance.
• Antibiotics aren’t always the answer. Everyone can help improve antibiotic prescribing and use. Improving the way health care professionals prescribe antibiotics, and the way we take antibiotics, helps keep us healthy now, helps fight antibiotic resistance, and ensures that these life-saving antibiotics will be available for future generations.
• Antibiotics do not work on viruses, such as those that cause colds, flu, bronchitis, or runny noses, even if the mucus is thick, yellow, or green.
• Antibiotics are only needed for treating certain infections caused by bacteria, but even some bacterial infections get better without antibiotics. Antibiotics aren’t needed for many sinus infections and some ear infections. Antifungal drugs treat fungal infections.
• Do your best to stay healthy and keep others healthy. Clean your hands by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol; cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze; stay home when sick; and get recommended vaccines, such as the flu vaccine.
Further information can be found here:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/week/get-involved.html
Click here for the document.