Released on February 23, 2023
Back to episode listThe hosts of the MicroBinfie podcast recently invited Dr. Natacha Couto from the University of Oxford and Professor Ed Feil from the University of Bath as special guests to discuss the concept of "One Health." This comprehensive approach seeks to manage the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by addressing the use of antibiotics in healthcare, agriculture, and the environment. The ultimate goal is to improve health outcomes across all sectors to create a healthier planet.
During the discussion, the guests noted that diagrams often used to represent One Health can be misleading; they frequently do not account for the complexity of AMR transmission. This suggests a need for a quantitative study to understand and identify the ecological and biological barriers to AMR transmission. While visual aids like diagrams can be helpful, they are not always accurate and should be approached with caution, given the implicit confirmation bias in visually appealing graphics.
AMR determinants are found in various settings, including animals, the environment, and humans, due to the natural origin of most antibiotics. Studies reveal that these determinants are not limited to hospitals but can also be found in the environment surrounding healthcare settings. There is a cautionary note regarding sampling methods, which can skew results. Thus, a quantitative approach is essential to understand AMR transmission across different sectors.
The One Health approach requires understanding the drivers of resistance and virulence beyond human pathogens. It includes organisms such as plants, insects, and animals, which form part of the broader virome and represent systems that are more challenging to study. There is no straightforward answer on where to focus resources since both resistant and commensal strains are vital to study. Context is crucial when it comes to virulence, as commensal bacteria can become dangerous pathogens in certain situations.
Environmental factors play a significant role in disease outbreaks. Understanding the habits of hosts like deer and pheasants, which ticks feed on, is crucial. Traditional methods such as outbreak analysis used in hospitals cannot be directly applied in environmental settings. Disease must be studied with its environmental context in mind. The Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated how host switches can have severe consequences, even though spillover events typically fizzle out before causing harm. Understanding environmental factors like habitat changes might help combat future disease outbreaks more effectively.
While tools like sequencing and analysis may be equivalent across different settings, the questions investigated can vary widely. It's important to comprehensively understand social science factors, such as people's compliance levels and risk perceptions, when studying AMR transmission in human communities.
The issue of antimicrobial resistance is complex and necessitates a multidimensional approach involving diverse perspectives and fields of study. The One Health framework advocates for integrated efforts across healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sectors to address this pressing global concern comprehensively.