Do you think a hundred 1% changes will have a bigger impact on AMR than one large change? This was the view put across by the Chief Medical Office Prof. Chris Whitty at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Event on AMR last Tuesday. In his address he spoke of the complex nature of the AMR problem, emphasising the need for multidisciplinary working, which the UK could and should excel at. The snapshot of UK research presented at the event, including microbiology, anthropology and modelling work by members of the LSHTM AMR Centre, highlights that the potential is there.

The other key point made by Prof. Whitty was that we have to be mindful of the unintended consequences of reducing antibiotic use. Whilst praising our veterinary colleagues, especially in the poultry sector, for dramatic reductions, he spoke to the need for careful intervention design when curbing antibiotic use – we cannot prevent those most in need from accessing antibiotics. In high-income countries this is likely to be the elderly population and in low-income settings the introduction of barriers to antibiotic treatment, such as prescriptions, is likely to have a disproportionate impact on the less prosperous.

In terms of a parliamentary audience, whilst we didn’t expect Mr Johnson, the event served as a networking opportunity with displays by researchers from the Universities of Exeter, Southampton, Edinburgh and Stirling alongside the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Royal Veterinary College and Imperial College London. A host of fluffy microbes, a cuddly chicken and a prosthetic arm highlight the diversity in presented research which led to discussions such as whether data from the global sewage surveillance project could inform empiric prescribing.

Events such as this demonstrate the huge variety in UK AMR research. Is the next step to build on these new contacts to form multidisciplinary teams that focus on only one facet of this complex problem? Many small changes could be the way to keep AMR in check.