AMR Prevention

What can we all do to help prevent antimicrobial resistance (AMR)?

There are a few steps each of us can take to help prevent AMR:

While anti-infectives can help treat an infection once it occurs, vaccines can help protect against life-threatening infections and their associated consequences, including AMR.

Why are vaccines important in the fight to #StopSuperbugs?

By helping to prevent infections in the first place, vaccines can reduce the use and overuse of antibiotics which may result in resistant strains.^2,3 In fact, to date, several studies have demonstrated the beneficial role that some existing vaccines play in the reduction of AMR.^4,5

Vaccination can play multiple roles in antimicrobial stewardship strategies focused on AMR prevention, including:

• Reducing the use of antibiotics by preventing:
  • bacterial infections including those that may carry resistance
  • viral diseases which lead to secondary bacterial infections requiring antibiotic treatment
  • viral diseases for which antibiotics are inappropriately prescribed
• Preventing antimicrobial resistant infections from spreading

With our innovative vaccine portfolio and pipeline, Pfizer is dedicated to helping to protect lives across all stages of life and to fight serious infectious diseases worldwide.

References

1. World Health Organization. Antibiotic Resistance. February 2018. Available at: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance. Last accessed March 2020.
2. The Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership. The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy. State of the World's Antibiotics. 2015. Available at: https://cddep.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/swa_edits_9.16.pdf. Last accessed March 2020.
3. Okeke, I. N., Lamikanra, A., and Edelman, R. Socioeconomic and Behavioral Factors Leading to Acquired Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics in Developing Countries. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 1999. 5(1):18–27.
4. Kwong J, et al. The Effect of Universal Influenza Immunization on Antibiotic Prescriptions: An Ecological Study. 2009. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/49/5/750/308812. Last accessed March 2020.
5. M Giufrèa, et al. Ten years of Hib vaccination in Italy: Prevalence of non-encapsulated Haemophilus influenzae among invasive isolates and the possible impact on antibiotic resistance. 2011. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21459175. Last accessed March 2020.