During the conference, one of the standout presentations revolved around a panel discussion featuring Sir O'Neill, which shed light on the intricate relationship between government policies and actions regarding antimicrobial resistance (AMR) after his alarming report in 2016 saying that AMR-associated deaths would cause 10 million lives a year and a cumulative 100 trillion USD by 2050.

This session underscored the crucial role of governmental interventions in shaping AMR policymaking and its impact on surveillance and prevention efforts against infectious diseases. Sir O'Neill's recognition of the minimal discrepancies (underestimation) between their estimates and the recent Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates in 2019 highlighted the complexity and evolution of the AMR landscape over the short period of time.

This discussion prompted further exploration into the underlying factors driving these variations and the implications for future AMR strategies, including improved statistical methods. In addition to the insightful panel discussion, I found the poster session to be particularly enriching, with a diverse array of works on display.

Personally, I was thrilled to present my work titled 'Mortality impacts of inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy in patients with bloodstream infections in Chile, 2018-2021' and was honoured to receive a ribbon for the top posters in the bacterial diseases section.

This recognition further reinforced the importance of addressing the challenges surrounding antibiotic therapy and its implications for patient outcomes. Finally, I would like to thank the AMR Centre for funding conference registration and supporting my research.

References:

1. O'Neill, Jim. "Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: final report and recommendations." (2016).
2. Murray, Christopher JL, et al. "Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis." The lancet 399.10325 (2022): 629-655.