Scientists meet over antimicrobial resistance
Top human and animal research scientists are congregating in Nairobi this morning to consider a new technology seen as a remedy in addressing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in both human and livestock health, environment and food safety.
This comes in the backdrop of AMR being described as the new pandemic projected to result in 50 million global deaths by 2050 if nothing is done urgently to reverse the trend.
“This is more than HIV and malaria combined. AMR is today the biggest public health facing humanity,” a dispatch from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) states.
The meeting organised by Kemri and the Institute of Primate Research will be exploring the role of Bacteriophages (phage) in complementing antibiotics in tackling bacterial antibiotic resistance.
Acting Kemri Director General Prof Sam Kariuki is subsequently calling on the government and partners to continue supporting phage research and applications for the benefit of the Kenyan people.
“Phages invade bacteria, replicate inside them and then lyse or kill the bacteria, going on to invade and kill other bacteria,” he explained.
