18-24 November 2020 is Antibiotic Awareness Week. The week aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and promote best practices to reduce use of antibiotics to slow and stop the spread of further antibiotic resistance in pathogens so we can continue to treat infections readily and easily.

From surveillance programmes to gut microbiomes, here we feature a selection of just some recent research and review articles from Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control and other journals across the BMC and Springer portfolios.

Antimicrobial use and resistance in food-producing animals and the environment: an African perspective

Despite the potential spread of antimicrobial resistant organisms, there has been little focus on antimicrobial resistance surveillance programme specific for animal and environment across Africa. This review looks into the effects of high levels of antimicrobial use in animal production systems in Africa on animals, environment and humans.

Association of prenatal antibiotics with measures of infant adiposity and the gut microbiome

Prenatal antibiotic exposure has been associated with an altered infant gut microbiome composition and higher risk of childhood obesity, but previously no studies have examined if prenatal antibiotics simultaneously alter the gut microbiome and adiposity in infants.

Views of health care professionals and policy-makers on the use of surveillance data to combat antimicrobial resistance

Providing healthcare professionals with health surveillance data aims to support professional and organisational behaviour change. This study aimed to determine the extent to which data on antimicrobial use and resistance met the perceived needs of health care professionals and policy-makers at national, regional and local levels, and how provision could be improved.

Risk perception of antimicrobial resistance by infection control specialists in Europe: a case-vignette study

This study assessed the perception of European infection control specialists regarding the individual and collective risk associated with antimicrobial resistance among inpatients across Europe at national, organisation and individual levels.

Challenges regarding the control of environmental sources of contamination in healthcare settings in low-and middle-income countries – a narrative review

Healthcare-associated infections especially outbreaks of multi-drug-resistant organisms within hospitals are recognized as a major contributor to morbidity and mortality of hospitalised patients. This review gives an overview of the challenges associated with controlling environmental contamination in low and lower-middle income countries, highlighting possible solutions.

Infection prevention and control research priorities: what do we need to combat healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance? Results of a narrative literature review and survey analysis

This review constructs infection prevention and control research priorities, in order to draw attention to these critical research needs.

Mosquito antiviral defense mechanisms: a delicate balance between innate immunity and persistent viral infection  

This review provides a summary of recent studies on mosquito antiviral immune responses, which is a key determinant for successful virus transmission. In addition, authors discuss the factors that may contribute to persistent infection in mosquito hosts, and current mosquito transmission-blocking strategies that utilize genetically modified mosquitoes and Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes for resistance to pathogens.

The effectiveness of frequent antibiotic use in reducing the risk of infection-related hospital admissions: results from two large population-based cohorts

Epidemiologists at The University of Manchester have discovered an association between the number of prescriptions for antibiotics and a higher risk of hospital admissions.