Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most significant challenges facing health care around the world because it reduces the ways we can use to prevent or fight disease.
Since 2016, the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) Surveillance System has provided essential information to support Australia’s strategic response to AMR. By seeing how we use antibiotics and how resistance is developing, we can target the best ways to slow or prevent resistance.
The 2019 AURA report, released on 9 May by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, found that:
- in hospitals, antibiotic use is increasing, but inappropriate prescribing levels remain steady
- in primary care, antibiotic use is decreasing
- in aged care homes, levels of inappropriate antibiotic use and rates of AMR are high
- AMR is increasing for some organisms in Australia.
Biotext edited and designed the report.