APUA Recognizes Leaders in Global Effort to Contain Antibiotic Resistance

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) has named Otto Cars, MD, chairman of ReAct -- Action on Antibiotic Resistance, based in Uppsala, Sweden -- as the recipient of its 2010 leadership award, and bestowed its annual chapter recognition award to APUA-Mexico.

The honors were announced last evening in conjunction with the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), attended by more than 12,000 scientists, physicians, pharmacists, clinical microbiologists, and other healthcare professionals.

"Otto Cars has provided outstanding leadership in the worldwide effort to contain antibiotic resistance," says APUA president Stuart B. Levy. "His energetic commitment to fostering international political action on the global aspects and consequences of antibacterial resistance continues to make an important difference, and we are delighted to recognize his vital work."

Cars, a specialist in infectious diseases, founded STRAMA, the Swedish strategic program against antibiotic resistance. He also was a founder and president of the International Society of Anti-infective pharmacology (ISAP). Since 2004, he has worked with ReAct, which is a global network working for access to effective treatment of bacterial infections for all.

APUA and ReAct officially endorsed the creation of the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR) late last year, which aims to increase the mutual understanding of activities and programs in the United States and European Union to improve knowledge of the mechanisms of resistance, promote appropriate use of existing antimicrobials, bolster discovery of new antibiotic drugs, and support infection control.

APUA also recognized its Mexico Chapter for introducing strong national surveillance, education, and legislation to improve antibiotic use in Mexico.

APUA-Mexico is part of APUA's worldwide network of affiliated organizations located in more than 60 countries.

"Under the leadership of Miguel Angel Peredo, MD, APUA-Mexico has significantly increased the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Mexico and introduced strong legislation to improve the use of antibiotics so as to extend the lifespan of currently available antibiotics," Levy says.

APUA-Mexico recently collaborated with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health and diverse professional associations on developing priorities for improving the use of antibiotics and containing antibiotic resistance, in line with APUA's mission to preserve the power of antibiotics and recommendations from the World Health Organization.

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (www.apua.org), founded in 1981, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the power of existing antibiotics and increasing access to needed new agents. With a chapter network spanning more than 60 countries, APUA represents the largest field presence among organizations engaged in research, education, and advocacy to improve public policy and antibiotic treatment practices worldwide.