Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at CSIRO

What’s the next big health issue we all have to face?

Is it a new pandemic?

Or is it already here?

Small outbreaks building into a wave of death and disease?

We know that germs already have significant resistance to the drugs designed to kill them.

That resistance is caused by over-using and mis-using antimicrobial agents, such as antibioticsin human and animal medicine, as well as food production.

Antimicrobial Resistance or AMR threatens the wellbeing of every single one of us.

It’s already made some of our standard antibiotics largely useless.

Many patients face the constant risk of severe illness and even death 

because antibiotics may not make them better.

In the next few years, AMR could overwhelm our hospitals and entire health systems worldwide.

So how do we combat this rapidly growing threat?

CSIRO is already developing new technologies and bringing together the best minds and resources to help solve this complex issue.

We can deliver scientific, medical, engineering, artificial intelligence and digital solutions 

to manage and minimise the threat of AMR.

Working together, we can better protect our health, environment, economy and way of life.

Using a One Health approach means battling this big problem on multiple fronts 

from farming to medicine and everything in between.

We collaborate deeply with stakeholders to protect and promote their individual aims. 

We also ensure overall success by combining many different contributions. 

Because Antimicrobial Resistance anywhere means resistance will be everywhere.

The battle against AMR needs work on several fronts: Surveillance and monitoring, as well as intervention and remediation.  

Our current research projects show the strength and breadth of our commitment to this global challenge.

We are engaging with state and local governments as well as stakeholders in health and wastewaterto monitor for signs of AMR and identify potential hot spots.

We are building capabilities with potential partners, such as DNA sequencing providers

to increase the use of genomic data in agriculture, food and healthcare.

This will help us understand how drug-resistant germs move from the environment to people.

CSIRO is also working with clinicians and industry groups to improve antimicrobial surface coatings on medical devices like urinary catheters and endotracheal tubes to boost infection control and reduce reliance on antibiotics.

In the dairy industry, CSIRO is supporting development of simple diagnostic tests for mastitis to allow more targeted treatment and improve milk production, reducing the need for large-scale antibiotic use.

These showcase programs demonstrate one key thing – we can’t do this alone. 

Collaboration across sectors is needed to tackle this problem.

CSIRO helps funders, inventors and implementers work together.

We ensure that stakeholders and partners succeed individually, so that we can defeat this threat collectively.  

You may be a scientist, farmer, doctor, engineer, vet or consumer - we all have a role to play.

And what benefits will this bring?

AMR outbreaks will be quickly contained or even prevented.

Lives and resources will be saved. AMR data will be more integrated, improving its quality, variety, volume and velocity. 

And new treatment technologies will lead to new health and societal approaches and new scientific and commercial possibilities.

From researchers to end users, from investors to industry partnerswe want to work with you to minimise the impact of AMR ensuring a future where antibiotics still save lives.