Canada introduces new guidelines to tackle antimicrobial resistance

In response to the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, Canada announced the distribution of national prescribing guidelines to optimize the use of antibiotics.

In response to the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday announced new national prescribing guidelines for antibiotics.

PHAC is partnering with Vancouver-based health technology company Firstline to roll out digital national guidelines to health-care providers across Canada. These guidelines will help providers, such as physicians and pharmacists, prescribe antibiotics effectively at a time when bacterial resistance is increasing.

In a Friday media release, PHAC said it will fund up to $843,225 over three years to support the development and dissemination of national antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for 25 different syndromes in humans.

“The development, dissemination, update, and promotion of national prescribing guidelines for Canadian prescribers will be a key tool in ensuring the appropriate and responsible use of antibiotics for humans and contribute to the overall fight against antimicrobial resistance,” said Health Minister Mark Holland in the media release.

The escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance involves microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, developing the ability to withstand medications that once effectively treated them. The danger of antibiotic resistance is that treatable illnesses, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis or minor infections, could become incurable, PHAC warned.

In Canada, antibiotic resistance was estimated to have caused 5,400 deaths, costing the health-care system about $1.4 billion, and reduced GDP by $2 billion in 2018, PHAC said.

The new initiative by PHAC and Firstline aims to optimize prescribing practices and reduce the unnecessary or inappropriate use of antimicrobials in Canada, a key driver of antimicrobial resistance.

The news comes the same day as the WHO updating its list of drug-resistant bacteria most threatening to human health. The list consists of 15 families of antibiotic-resistant bacteria grouped into critical, high and medium categories for prioritization and guides the development of new and necessary treatments to stop the spread.