Influence of specific prescribing practices on the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance in Haemophilus Influenzae ($17,200) – Dr Stephen Tristram
Antibiotic resistance is increasing worldwide and presents real problems with the management of infectious diseases. A new type type of antibiotic resistance in Haemophilus influenzae, an organism that commonly infects the respiratory tract, is posing particular problems not only because the most commonly used antibiotics are no longer effective, but also because diagnostic laboratories have trouble detecting the resistance. Routine methods demonstrated that this type of resistance was present in less than 1% of strains of the organism in Australia, but more sensitive molecular techniques show that the true rate of resistance is approximately 20%. This means that many patients are being treated with sub optimal antibiotics and opportunities to provide suitable treatment are being missed.
In the early 1970′s, pure basic research into Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), the first “superbug”, laid the foundation for subsequent applied research that informed many of the control strategies still in use today.
There are many gaps in the basic understanding of this new resistance in Haemophilus Influenzae and this research intends to unravel the molecular eveolution of the resistance. This information will be used to devise straegies to increase ease of detection of the resistance and minimise its emergence by avoiding those antibiotics that more strongly promote resistance.
Tasmania's Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust was established in 1991.