WHO identifies research priorities for boosting fight against antimicrobial resistance

The World Health Organization (WHO) last week released its global research agenda for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health.

Designed to fill the substantial knowledge gaps on AMR that have hampered development of evidence-based policies and interventions and contributed to the stalled progress on national AMR action plans, the agenda includes 33 research priorities for bacterial and fungal infections organized into four themes: Prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, and cross-cutting. An additional seven research priorities focus on drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).

“The goal of this research agenda is to identify and give priority to the research topics with the greatest impact on mitigating AMR in the human health sector,” the WHO said. “A priority research agenda for AMR is critical in guiding policy-makers, researchers, funders, implementing partners, industry and civil society in generating new evidence to inform AMR policies and interventions.”

Priorities need to be translated into ‘actionable, implementable’ studies

Among the priorities are investigating the impact and contribution of community water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and waste management interventions on AMR in healthcare settings and the community; investigating and evaluating rapid point-of-care tests that can distinguish bacterial from viral infections, identify bacterial pathogens, and detect antimicrobial susceptibility; identifying antimicrobial stewardship interventions that are feasible, context-specific, and cost-effective in inpatient and outpatient settings; and studying the epidemiology, morbidity, and mortality of infections caused by WHO bacterial and fungal priority pathogens.

Research priorities for drug-resistant TB include investigating the impact of TB vaccines on preventing infection and disease, determining optimal diagnostic and treatment delivery modes, and examining more effective and shorter treatment regimens for patients with drug-resistant TB.

The WHO says the research agenda emphasizes the need to translate the research priorities into actionable, implementable studies that can ultimately inform and strengthen AMR policies around the world, particularly in low-resources countries.