Welcome to the AMR - One Health Consortium Newsletter!

Welcome to our first-ever newsletter for the AMR - One Health Consortium! This newsletter is developed to regularly disseminate information of general interest about upcoming events, funding opportunities, and other items of interest from various sources related to AMR that may be of interest to our Consortium members.

Upcoming Public Events: World Antibiotics Awareness Week & Gairdner Symposium

The World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2019 is coming up!  Please see the WHO website to download campaign materials, see the campaign map, sign up for WAAW updates, and more!  https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2019/11/18/default-calendar/world-antibiotic-awareness-week-2019 

The 2019 Gairdner Symposium on Fuelling the Fight Against AMR is also happening on November 14-15, at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. The event has a significant public outreach component and is expected to garner media attention. See the website for more details: https://www.fightamr2019.com/

Webinar: "How are we doing? Progress on Integrated AMR and AMU surveillance in Canada: 2014-2019"

November 20, 2019,12:30 – 1:30pm (CST) 

Speakers: Dr. Lynora Saxinger and Dr. Simon Otto 

Description: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognized global public health threat. Integrated, One Health based surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU) must underpin efforts to protect human, animal, and crop health. In 2014, the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) published a report assessing AMR/AMU surveillance in Canada along with recommendations to address gaps in Canada, and a Council of Chief Veterinary Officers (CCVO) report addressed AMU in animals in 2016. The speakers will present an assessment of the progress made towards these recommendations and considerations. They will also describe a unique rubric they developed for this work, derived from a WHO based AMR situation analysis tool and published components of sustainable public health programs.

Objectives of the webinar: Evaluate Canada's progress on AMU/AMR surveillance relative to the 2014 NCCID report recommendations. Outline the assessment tool developed to conduct this evaluation. Highlight future directions for AMU/AMR surveillance in Canada based on current progress. 

Registration:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/progress-on-integrated-amr-and-amu-surveillance-in-canada-2014-2019-tickets-78192298269 

Access Instructions 

Instructions will be posted on Eventbrite and e-mailed to registrants prior to the webinar.

Funding for this webinar is provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The opinions expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the PHAC or the NCCID. 

New Report: "When Antibiotics Fail"

On November 14, the Council of Canadian Academies is releasing an Assessment Report entitled: "When Antibiotics Fail", done as an independent assessment for the Public Health Agency of Canada as the lead federal agency. There is live streaming of a panel discussion on the report at an event at McMaster University with some heavy AMR hitter panel members. The assessment is an interesting and well-done report on the socio-economic costs of AMR in Canada, with a One Health perspective.

How to register for the live stream: https://cca-reports.ca/livestream/

Call for Abstracts: Sixth International One Health Congress (IOHC)

Call for AMR One Health stakeholders: Canadian AMR Network Project

Last Spring, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) tasked Andrew Morris and Gerry Wright to take the pulse of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) community in Canada and propose models of what a Canadian AMR network would look like. The idea came about through discussions with the various advisory panels developing the Canadian Action Plan for AMR. It was clear from this consultation that there is a need for a unifying network to bridge the diverse stakeholders in this area. The PHAC-funded AMR Network project is now officially underway. Maureen Perrin is the project manager for the initiative. 

The group is currently identifying One Health stakeholders, doing an environmental scan to draw from the vast information already available, and getting expert advice on the governance structure. These are key inputs into the proposed network model(s) that will be designed through a series of consensus and relationships building activities over the coming year. If you are aware of any potential stakeholders who would like to be informed or involved, please connect with Maureen: maureen@amrnetwork.ca. People will be invited to participate and can opt-out if not interested. Everyone in CAIN is automatically on the list.

Talking to the public about AMR

In the following few weeks, there is expected to be a heavy media focus on AMR due to the upcoming events noted in this newsletter. It is possible that some of you may be contacted to comment, or to speak at public events. The following link below provides information about communicating with the public regarding antimicrobial resistance: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/10/experts-urge-better-antimicrobial-resistance-messaging.

If you would like guidance on targetting slides or audiovisual materials towards a lay audience, please contact Rose: rmgerans@ucalgary.ca. Please also work with the communication departments at your respective universities for any media inquiries.

Looking for a Co-Op student? UBC Co-Op Students Available for Summer and Winter Internships, 2020

The UBC Science Co-op Program has co-op students for hire for 2020. They currently have 650+ students applying for Winter 2020 internships (available for 4 to 16 months). In the New Year, they will have a new group of students seeking Summer 2020 internships (available for 4 to 8 months). Most of these students have previous technical work experience already. 
 
Please contact Tina Lee if interested: tlee@sciencecoop.ubc.ca