Estimating attributable mortality of resistant bloodstream infections: GLASS (WHO) recommended method

Dear All,

WHO’s GLASS Secretariat (Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System, link) have recently released a standardized method for estimating attributable mortality of antimicrobial resistant bloodstream infections. The webpage discussing the document is here; the document itself is here.

GLASS currently collects surveillance data on infections in the blood as well as the urinary, gastrointestinal, and genital tracts for a variety of pathogens. Taking this one step further, GLASS now seeks to develop data on the impact of AMR by focusing on a specific and readily documented infection (BSI) and a readily measured outcome (in-hospital mortality).

Developed by a very international group of contributors, the idea behind the proposed method is to foster the application of a systematic and harmonized approach across countries so that consistently measured point estimates of attributable mortality can be consolidated to inform evaluation of the global AMR burden. The document describes a prospective cohort study method for generation of reliable estimates of in-hospital mortality from AMR BSIs caused by (at a minimum) ESBL-producing E. coli and MRSA BSIs.

Generating consistent data for policy makers is clearly of value to us all … it’s great to see this proposed international methodology! And as a related sidebar, those developing susceptibility tests or other medical devices should look at the meeting calendar for a newly listed deep-dive workshop on device regulation around the world.

All best wishes, –jr

John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | Operating Partner, Advent Life Sciences. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRex_NewAbx. See past newsletters and subscribe for the future: https://amr.solutions/blog/. All opinions are my own.

Current funding opportunities:

  • Novo REPAIR Impact Fund is open for global applications through 31 Jul 2020. Go here for current details.
  • 2020 funding rounds for CARB-X have not been announced.
  • The Global AMR R&D Hub’s dynamic dashboard (link) summarizes funders and projects by geography, stage, and more.


Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community:

  • 20 Jul 2020 (online, All-Day EST): ASM Microbe 2020, On-demand symposia, courses, and workshops. Go here for details.
  • 21-22 Jul 2020 (online, 11a-3p EST): ASM Microbe 2020, Live sessions. Go here for details.
  • 27-28 Jul 2020 (online, 11a-3p EST): ASM Microbe 2020, Live sessions. Go here for details.
  • 27 Jul-31 Jul 2020 (online): Small World Initiative Instructor Training Workshop – training for undergraduate professors and high school teachers in wet lab techniques, parallel curricula, & pedagogical instruction to engage students in the hunt to find new antibiotics in soil (also covering distancing learning options). Go here to register.
  • 4 Aug 2020 (Silver Spring): FDA workshop entitled “Development Considerations of Antifungal Drugs to Address Unmet Medical Need.” Go here to register.
  • 5 Aug 2020 (Silver Spring): FDA workshop entitled “Developing Antifungal Drugs for the Treatment of Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) Infection.” Go here to register.
  • [NEW] 7 Aug 2020 (online, 3-7.30p BST): The Longitude Prize Sprint Workshop entitled “Navigating MedTech Regulation Pathways in Developed and Emerging Markets”. Register here for this deep-dive into regional variations in the rules for devices.
  • 17 Aug 2020 (online, 1-2.30p EST): ASM Microbe 2020, Industry & Science program. Go here for details.
  • 24-28 Aug 2020 (online, 9.45a-18.30p CEST daily): BEAM Alliance-sponsored AMR Conference. Go here for details.
  • September 2020. University of Sheffield (UK). Applications are being taken for a new 1-year (full-time) or 2-year (part-time) Masters of Science course in Antimicrobial Resistance. The program runs annually from September and covers microbiology, clinical practice and policy. The course webpage is here.
  • 9-10 Sep 2020 (Washington, DC): US PACCARB public meeting. Go here for details.
  • 21-25 Oct 2019 (online meeting), IDWeek 2020. Go here for details.
  • 26-29 Oct 2020 (online meeting), Annual ESPID meeting (European Society for Pediatric ID, #38)
  • 27 Oct 2020 (online meeting), BARDA Industry Day, a discussion of U.S. Government medical countermeasure priorities. Mark your calendar now and watch this website for details.
  • 10-13 Apr 2021 (Vienna): Annual ECCMID meeting (#31)
  • 18-21 May 2021 (Albuquerque, New Mexico): Biannual meeting of the MSGERC (Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium). Save-the-date announcement is here, details to follow.
  • 20-24 June 2021 (Toronto): International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-12). Go here for details.
  • 3-7 Jun 2021 (Anaheim), ASM Microbe 2021. Go here for details.
  • 5-21 Aug 2021 (Marine Biology Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA): Residential course entitled “Molecular Mycology: Current Approaches to Fungal Pathogenesis.” This 2-week intensive training program has run annually for many years and gets outstanding reviews. Go here for details.
  • 8-11 Oct 2021 (Aberdeen, Scotland): 10th Trends in Medical Mycology. Go here for details.
  • 16-24 Oct 2021 (Annecy, France): Interdisciplinary Course on Antibiotics and Resistance (ICARe). This is a soup-to-nuts residential course on antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, and antibiotic R&D. The course is very intense, very detailed, and gets rave reviews. Registration is here and is limited to 40 students.

Share

EPA (part 2, streptomycin!) / $104m ARPA-H AMR project

Dear All (OK, so now it’s 5 newsletters in as many days … exciting times … can’t keep up!), Two follow-up items today. First, yesterday’s newsletter about EPA’s concept note regarding AMR risks of pesticides prompted one of your fellow readers to remind me about this lawsuit filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit: Case

BARDA Medical Countermeasures BAA: Substantial updates

Dear All (and yes, back-to-back newsletters … lots of action this week!): BARDA have today released a new version of their long-running BAA (Broad Agency Announcement, formerly BAA-18-100-SOL-00003) that seeks medical countermeasures (MCMs) for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases. The new BAA is BAA-23-100-SOL-00004 and has been completely reorganized and

Appropriate duration of antimicrobial dosing in food animal care

Dear All,  I’ve watched with interest the way that FDA’s CVM (Center for Veterinary Medicine) has been working steadily with the veterinary community as a whole to reduce antibiotic resistance pressure by improving the way antibiotics are used in animal care. The titles of these prior newsletters give you a feel for some aspects of

Scroll to Top