Science

New Antibiotic Resistance Tracking Project Announced

Globally renowned charity the Wellcome Trust have announced £2.4 million to track the spread of superbugs.

New Antibiotic Resistance Tracking Project Announced

The Global Burden of Disease Antimicrobial Resistance project was announced at Wellcome’s Call to Action conference in Berlin last week. The conference gathered government ministers, scientists, and industry and civil society leaders together to discuss how to tackle this global health threat.

“Unchecked, eventually routine surgeries could prove life-threatening”

The rapid spread of superbugs poses a great risk to human health, increasing length of hospital stays and mortality rates. Left unchecked, eventually routine surgical procedures such as caesareans could prove life-threatening. Currently 700,000 people die each year from drug resistant infections; however, predicted numbers show that this may rise to 10 million people a year by 2050. Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust said: “We can stop the superbugs which could undermine the whole of modern medicine. But the impact is now and the time to act is now.”

This project is the first of its kind to map the disease and deaths caused by drug resistant infections to support further research. Scientists from the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute, the Centre for Tropical Medicine, and The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, will collaborate on this research with additional funding provided by the UK government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, Wellcome launched a new expert group – the Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug Resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC) to enable better global data sharing strategies on drug resistant infections.

From Issue 1672

20th Oct 2017

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Read more

Peter Haynes to take over Provost role in October

News

Peter Haynes to take over Provost role in October

Professor Peter Haynes has been appointed as the new Provost and Deputy President of Imperial College. The current  Vice-Provost for Education and Student Experience, Haynes will succeed the outgoing Provost, Professor Ian Walmsley, who has served in the role since 2018. Imperial President Hugh Brady said Professors Haynes and Walmsley

By Guillaume Felix
Why RAG’s bungee jump event never took place

News

Why RAG’s bungee jump event never took place

Earlier this academic year, Imperial Raising and Giving (RAG), had announced the return of their charity bungee jump after a hiatus of 10 years. The event, however, was postponed several times, and Felix can now reveal why it was cancelled. The event, initially scheduled for November 13th, was postponed several

By Mohammad Majlisi and Nadeen Daka
Palestine protests ramp up as year ends and tensions rise

News

Palestine protests ramp up as year ends and tensions rise

Saturday 7th June: Pro-Palestinian protestors hold banners as they stand on ALERT at the Great Exhibition Road Festival. Tuesday 10th June: A student announces a hunger strike asking for Imperial to investigate Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, form a student-staff working group on ethical investment, and divest from arms companies accused

By Mohammad Majlisi