About Anti-Infectives

What are anti-infectives?

Anti-infectives are medicines that work to prevent or treat infections, they include antibacterials, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic medications.

Why are anti-infectives so important?

Anti-infectives have revolutionized healthcare and are now critical in curing and even helping to prevent many kinds of infection. Thanks to anti-infectives, we can:¹

• Treat minor infections and most often cure many serious infectious diseases, like pneumonia or tuberculosis
• Perform routine procedures and complex surgery, such as cesarean sections or joint replacements, which carry a risk of serious infection
• Give vital immuno-suppressive treatments, like chemotherapy, to people with cancer

Alarmingly, many anti-infectives are losing their effectiveness due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).¹

What causes infection?

Infectious diseases continue to be one of the biggest global public health concerns.¹ But what causes infections in the first place?

References

1. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: final report and recommendations. May 2016. Available at: https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/160525_Final%20paper_with%20cover.pdf Last accessed March 2020.
2. World Health Organisation. World Health Report: global health threats in the 21st century. 2007. Available at: http://www.who.int/whr/2007/overview/en/index1.html Last accessed March 2020.
3. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. Tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations. December 2014. Available at: https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/AMR%20Review%20Paper%20-%20Tackling%20a%20crisis%20for%20the%20health%20and%20wealth%20of%20nations_1.pdf Last accessed March 2020.
4. World Health Organization. WHO’s first global report on antibiotic resistance reveals serious, worldwide threat to public health. April 30 2014. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/amr-report/en Last accessed March 2020.
5. Vasso S et al. Emerging issues in gram-negative bacterial resistance: an update for the practicing clinician. Mayo Clinic Proc. 2015;90:395-403.
6. Schaalje J. Medical terminology: Gram positive vs. Gram negative bacteria. American College of Healthcare Sciences. April 12 2013. Available at: http://info.achs.edu/blog/bid/282924/Medical-Terminology-Gram-Positive-vs-Gram-Negative-Bacteria Last accessed March 2020.
7. Cox R. Bacterial infections 101. OnHealth. May 11 2016. Available at: https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/bacterial_infections Last accessed March 2020.
8. NHS Choices. Antifungal medicines overview. August 14 2017. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/antifungal-medicines/ Last accessed March 2020.
9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cancer Patients and Fungal Infections. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/infections/cancer-patients.html Last accessed March 2020.
10. Cox R. Viral infections: types, treatment and prevention. OnHealth. July 1 2016. Available at: https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/viral_infections Last accessed March 2020.
11. Public Health England. Pre-school immunisations: a guide to vaccinations from two years old until starting primary school. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/849563/Immunisations_for_Preschool_children_A5_booklet_Nov2019.pdf
12. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parasites. 27 September 2017. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/about.html Last accessed March 2020.