91制片厂

Photo caption: 91制片厂鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences Professor Jack Heinemann

A 91制片厂-led project will map antimicrobial resistance across Aotearoa New Zealand to identify environmental hotspots.

Led by Professor Jack Heinemann from Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 91制片厂鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences, the study is the first to attempt this for an entire country, offering a roadmap to eliminate environmental antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Using a One Health approach鈥攚hich links human, animal, and environmental health鈥攖he research will build a 3D map of antimicrobial resistance across Aotearoa to pinpoint concentrated areas of resistance and find ways to reduce it or keep it from spreading.

Professor Heinemann describes antimicrobial resistance鈥攚hen microorganisms develop the ability to withstand antibiotics鈥攁s an 鈥渆xistential threat鈥� to humankind. While it is often viewed as a medical issue, he emphasises that it is also a major threat to food production and the environment.听

鈥淎ntimicrobial resistance is a bigger environmental issue than just the medicinal use of antibiotics in hospitals or farms,鈥� he says.

鈥淲e spend a lot of our research capital looking for new antibiotics, hoping for a different outcome鈥攜et we continue to misuse them in the same ways. We can鈥檛 invent our way out of this problem.鈥�

Despite growing awareness of antibiotic overuse, resistance continues to outpace our ability to respond with new drugs, and they become ineffective even shortly after their introduction, Professor Heinemann says.

While stewardship鈥攗sing antibiotics more carefully鈥攊s essential, Professor Heinemann says it鈥檚 not enough on its own.听

鈥淪tewardship is an important step, but it won鈥檛 solve the problem by itself. Antibiotics are widely relied upon in healthcare and agriculture, and restricting their use often limits access for those most in need, especially marginalised communities.鈥�

Professor Heinemann says antibiotic-resistant bacteria are now found in places far removed from human activity, including the ocean, far from the coast, in Antarctica, and even in the air. 鈥淭hese microorganisms are now present in water, air and land in numbers they weren鈥檛 100 years ago.鈥�

Professor Heinemann points to growing scientific evidence that industrial pollution鈥攏ot just antibiotic overuse鈥攊s contributing to the spread of resistance.

鈥淥ur use of chemistry has changed dramatically. We invent and release new chemical compounds faster than our population grows, and many of them interact with bacteria in ways we don鈥檛 fully understand. Some chemicals not designed to kill bacteria are still making them more resistant to antibiotics.鈥澨�