Antibiotic-resistant infection tops assessment of national risks

The risk of an antimicrobial-resistant infection is among the biggest threats faced by the State, a new analysis has found.

The National Risk Assessment for Ireland 2023 also identified a new pandemic, cyber-attacks and disruptions to critical supply chains as our highest rated risks.

The assessment, launched today by Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin, quoted the Government’s Overview of Strategic Risks report, which found that: “increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in micro-organisms that cause infection and disease is making some of the most common infections more difficult to treat.

“The global growth in AMR is being driven by a range of factors including overuse and misuse of antimicrobials, lack of access to adequate sanitation, as well as suboptimal infection and disease prevention and control practices in both healthcare facilities and on farms.

“AMR increases risks to individual human health, patient care, and longer-term community healthcare. The risks presented by AMR are compounded by there being relatively few new antimicrobials coming to market, limitations on diagnostic tools, along with the lack of alternatives to antimicrobials for the treatment and control of infectious diseases.”

The National Risk Assessment, which used expert focus groups to discuss dangers posed by a range potential threat, concluded that: “The reasonable worst-case scenario agreed by the expert focus group was increased morbidity and mortality due to ineffective antibiotic treatments for anti-microbial resistant bacteria.

It added: “There is significant international collaboration on the issue of AMR, including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) and the One Health Network.”

The assessment also highlighted the risk of a new pandemic as having a very high impact on the State.

“Historical evidence shows that pandemics have the potential to cause death and illness on a significant scale and to disrupt normal social and economic activity,” the report said.

“A highly transmissible virus, for example influenza or coronavirus, on the scale of Covid-19 was the agreed reasonable worst-case scenario.

“The Department of Health and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre maintain close contact with the European Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation. These close contacts are used to monitor, predict and mitigate the impact of any disease-causing pathogen with pandemic potential.”

The report’s authors gathered data over a four-week period last summer as part of their assessment on the most likely and most high-impact dangers facing the country. Impact was assessed based on potential effects to health, the environment, the economy and other areas of society.

“The top ranked risk this time is a global issue and that is to do with the fact that we have a lot of antimicrobial resistant infections or bacteria,” said DCU Prof Caroline McMullan of the National Risk Assessment Working Group on RTE radio.

“Our traditional methods of managing those infections with antibiotic treatments etc. are less efficient because of maybe overuse or misuse of antibiotics.

“That’s a global health issue that we are not immune from and also must try to manage the best we can.”