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Dear Customers,
The World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 report, Water, sanitation, hygiene, environmental cleaning and waste management in healthcare facilities, says 742 million people (9% of the global population) had no water service at their healthcare facility, meaning the facility had no water source, used an unimproved water source, or water had to be collected from an improved source more than 500 meters away. In addition, 660 million people (8%) had no sanitation service at their healthcare facility (no toilets or only unimproved sanitation facilities). 722 million people (9%) had no hygiene service (no functional hand hygiene facilities at points of care or at toilets).
In addition to lack of basic WASH services in healthcare facilities (HCFs), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global public health and development threats that affects countries in all regions and at all income levels. The WHO estimates that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.
This newsletter points to helpful information on AMR and water quality testing of AMR E. coli with emphasis on HCFs.
For our part, Aquagenx provides water quality field test kits for AMR E. coli that are excellent surveillance tools to help prevent and control AMR occurrence and transmission.
Please contact me if you ever have questions on this topic.
Thank you and regards, Lisa Hirsh
Director Sales & Marketing 1+919-590-0343 Ext. 1
lhirsh@aquagenx.com
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WASH in Healthcare Facilities
Community of Practice | |
The Water Institute at UNC facilitates the WASH in HCF Community of Practice Initiative (COP). It brings together practitioners from across the globe to share experiences in providing and sustaining these critical services.
The COP contributes to the global WASH in healthcare facilities initiative co-led by WHO and UNICEF through three main objectives: - Connect in-country WASH in healthcare facility implementers with the evidence, resources, potential partners, and funding mechanisms they need to develop, implement and advocate for WASH in HCF programs
- Provide a platform for COP members to share experiences, ideas and best practices for WASH in HCF programming
- Encourage members to take action based on the latest research and best practices
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Antimicrobial Resistance and Water Quality | |
There are strong, direct connections between water contaminated with AMR bacteria and AMR infections and mortalities.
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Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria in
Water Supplies at Healthcare Facilities | |
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HCFs as an Emerging Source of
Antimicrobial Resistance | |
Healthcare facilities are hotspots of AMR due to high antibiotic consumption and the presence of highly susceptible populations. There is a dynamic exchange in AMR between healthcare infrastructures, human populations, animals, and the environment. | |
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Combatting AMR Through WASH | |
Keeping HCFs clean, including adequate WASH, is one of WHO’s 13 urgent global health challenges for the 2020s. Providing safe care will not happen without addressing the current sub-optimal investment in WASH and infection prevention and control in HCFs, which results in over-reliance on antibiotics that cause AMR. | |
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Tackling AMR Amid Conflict and Fragility | |
A recent article by the WHO explains that in most conflict zones, health systems become fractured, causing some to collapse. Governance is weak, infrastructure is damaged, supply chains are disrupted, and human resources are depleted. As health systems collapse, AMR thrives.
Humanitarian actors and intergovernmental organizations tend to focus on immediate emergencies such as epidemics, malnutrition and trauma care. AMR is perceived as secondary or long-term, even though it directly undermines the emergencies they address. | |
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WHO Global Surveillance of ESBL
E. coli Using “One Health” Approach | |
A common strain of AMR E. coli is called ESBL (extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing) E. coli. These strains are considered critical priority pathogens by the WHO.
Effective monitoring and surveillance of water is needed to support prevention and control of AMR occurrence and transmission.
For this reason, The WHO Tricycle "One Health" Protocol encourages countries and other stakeholders to monitor ESBL E. coli in environmental water samples by using a culture-based monitoring method (see page 31). | |
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Aquagenx Water Quality Test Kits
for AMR ESBL E. coli | |
Aquagenx's groundbreaking AMR ESBL E. coli test kits are culture-based tests that demonstrate excellent correlation to standard culture-based methods in the WHO Tricycle "One Health" Protocol. They provide the same features and benefits of all our microbial tests: - No electricity, lab, advanced analysts, cold chain or complicated equipment required
- Use in low resource, rural, remote and disaster areas
- Ambient temperature incubation at 25° Celsius and above
- MPN or CFU ambient temperature test results in 20-48 hours
- Works at variable temperatures, constant temperature control not required
- Color change test results easy to interpret
- Compact and lightweight, small number of consumables
- One-year shelf life of AMR E. coli growth medium (our standard E. coli media shelf life is three years)
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Dr. Mark Sobsey and Antimicrobial Resistance | |
Dr. Mark D. Sobsey, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer Emeritus of Aquagenx, first became involved with AMR in 2014, when the WHO embarked on global AMR response activities and initiatives. He was part of the global team of AMR experts to develop a policy and protocol for global AMR surveillance that could be disseminated to all countries. The expert group met in-person and virtually to settle on the AMR target and develop the surveillance protocol.
ESBL E. coli was selected as the surveillance target and methods were specified for its analysis in clinical samples, animal agricultural samples and environmental samples of water and wastewater. After pilot lab studies on the development of specific culture-based methods as well as training materials, this protocol was piloted and rolled out in several low and middle income counties. It was the Tricycle Protocol, published in 2018, that is now widely used in many countries.
Dr. Sobsey was one of the leads in the development of the protocols for analysis of ESBL E. coli in environmental water samples. He continues to be an expert adviser to the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat. | |
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Published Papers on Aquagenx
AMR ESBL E. coli Test Kits | |
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