The Singapore Family Physician
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Vol 40 No. 1 - Infectious Disease
Antimicrobial Resistance: Community and Hospital
The Singapore Family Physician
Vol 40
No 1
- Infectious Disease
11
- 17
1 March 2014
0377-5305
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) increases the morbidity, mortality and costs of treating infectious diseases. (Hawkey and Jones, 2009)1. The threat from resistant organisms is now a global problem, both in the hospital and to some extent in the community. The key drivers are: medical care complexity; widespread antimicrobial use in animal husbandry; antimicrobial contaminated food distribution; international travel, and food distribution of food contaminated with multidrug resistant organism. Strategies for infection control are: good understanding of what needs to be done, consistent application of infection control measures, use of “search and destroy” techniques; and effective antimicrobial stewardship. This paper reviews the current issues and potential solutions.