The lecture was presented by internationally acclaimed experts, Professor Guy Richards, head of the division of Critical Care, School of Clinical Medicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Wits University; and the director of the Department of Critical Care at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital; and Professor Adriano Duse, head of department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, of the National Health Laboratory Service and School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wits University.
Professor Richards presented information on the therapeutic, infection prevention, and control challenges of bacterial pathogens, with Professor Duse focusing on similar challenges posed by agents that cause viral hemorrhagic fevers such as the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses.
Professor Richards said, “We have reached the end of the antibiotic era, they are a finite and dwindling resource due to the fact that it has become unprofitable for pharmaceutical companies to develop new agents. The pipeline of medication has reduced to a trickle, which means that patients who contract these infections which previously may have been considered to be minor will die.”
He believes infection control is paramount, while other steps include educating GPs and hospital doctors on responsible antibiotic prescription. He further strongly advised individuals to go for the yearly vaccine for influenza, and encouraged the banning of antibiotics in animals for use as a growth stimulant.
On the topic of viral infections, Professor Duse said, “It is often human behaviour that influences outbreaks. This includes not washing our hands or exposing ourselves to diseases by encroaching on previously undisturbed eco-systems, such as tropical rain forests where ‘superbugs’ have been around for millennia. There is also a lack of respect for animal health and often infections are transmitted between animals and humans which are caused by microorganisms as diverse as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.”
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