This webinar, the second in a series of 3 exploring the use of bacteriophages, explores the potential for phages to offer a sustainable alternative to conventional antibiotics in agriculture and animal health. It follows on from the success of the first webinar, which focused on the opportunities and challenges facing the application of phages for human health and attracted an unprecedented 1300+ registrations.
Bacteriophages are viruses that selectively target and kill bacteria. They are common natural entities that can destroy bacteria that are resistant to drugs such as antibiotics. Phage therapy holds promising potential in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which poses a significant global health threat, leading to increased morbidity, mortality and health-care costs.
Addressing AMR requires a multifaceted approach that considers human, animal and environmental health – known as the One Health approach. Bacteriophages offer a promising alternative or adjunct to traditional antibiotics. However, the potential broader adoption of phage therapy requires robust evidence to support its efficacy, safety and feasibility across One Health sectors.
This series of 3 webinars, led by WHO/Europe in collaboration with the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Development Hub, aims to accelerate evidence development to progress towards the application of bacteriophages within the One Health framework.
A recording of the first webinar is available – “Vintage innovation – Towards building the evidence for broader use of bacteriophages from an AMR One Health perspective”.
Objectives
The objectives of the webinar are:
- to explore the current state of knowledge and evidence gaps regarding the use of bacteriophages for production animal application;
- to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the broader implementation of phages in production animals; and
- to identify strategies for building the evidence base to support the broader use of bacteriophages as a tool in the fight against AMR.
Speakers
Martha Clokie, Professor of Microbiology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
Tamta Zakareishvili, Head of Veterinary Department, Chirina Ltd, Georgia
Dr Noemi Garcia del Blanco, Head of Veterinary Biologicals and Emerging Therapies, Veterinary Division, European Medicines Agency, Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
Mattias Middelboe, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Shawon Lahiri, Senior Analyst, Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance, Sweden
Register for the webinar via the link.