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BEDREHELSE-Bedre helse og livskvalitet

Disinfection is a missing link in the fight against AMR

Awarded: NOK 0.20 mill.

The proposed project addresses the role of the disinfection chemicals, that surround people, animals, plants, food and the environment on a daily basis, and the impact of disinfectants as potential drivers for AMR. Disinfection products play a crucial role in preventing and controlling a range of bacterial, fungal and viral challenges, such as in medicine, food production, agriculture, in the production of wood, paint, personal care products, drinking water, cleaning products, and even in clothes production. Especially, there has been a huge increase in use of hand sanitizers and surface disinfection products during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, such chemical selective pressure has the power of accelerating the surge of more robust antimicrobial resistant strains, and this link has been described as a knowledge gap in the fight against AMR. The pre-project will establish a cross-disciplinary consortium that represent a one-health perspective, ensuring stakeholder involvement of partners from both industry and the public sector, to work towards a main project proposal that will provide new knowledge and understanding on disinfectants as drivers for AMR development and spread, and especially the impact of disinfection use in other than clinical settings, such as hand sanitizers and surface disinfectants. The role of these chemicals in cross and co-selective resistance to antibiotics in bacteria and fungi represents a missing link in the one-health perspective.

Funding scheme:

BEDREHELSE-Bedre helse og livskvalitet