CIIDIR Hosts AMR Seminar for World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW) 2025
CIIDIR marked World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week 2025 with a seminar held at HERB Geelong on Thursday 20th November, bringing together researchers, clinicians, pharmacists, and students to explore the growing challenges of AMR and the innovations shaping its future.
The seminar opened with welcoming remarks from CIIDIR Co-Director, Professor Eugene Athan, who emphasised the gravity of AMR as a global health emergency and “an existential threat to humanity.”
He emphasised that advances once taken for granted such as safe surgery, cancer treatment, and transplantation are increasingly compromised by rising antimicrobial resistance. Prof. Eugene Athan also noted that while the scientific community recognises the urgency, sustained communication, public awareness, and political engagement remain critical, “We need to keep telling the story and convincing decision-makers of the importance of tackling AMR in every way possible.”
CIIDIR’s Research Fellow and Scientific Coordinator Dr Kirsty McCann outlined this year’s WAAW theme: “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future” and reminded attendees of the significant global burden of AMR with more than 1.27 million deaths directly attributable to AMR in 2019 and nearly 5 million deaths associated with drug-resistant infections (WHO WAAW) and the importance of responsible antimicrobial use across communities.
Keynote: Strengthening AMR Surveillance in Papua New Guinea
Dr Nomvuyo Mothobi, Infectious Diseases Physician & Clinical Microbiologist Technical Advisor, AMR One Health Working Group, (Burnet Institute) presented a compelling keynote on the Fleming Fund Country Grant in Papua New Guinea, outlining how the program has strengthened AMR surveillance, laboratory capacity, governance, and one -health collaboration across the country.
Some of the key achievements included:
- Establishing PNG’s first national AMR and antimicrobial use surveillance systems
- Developing the country’s first antimicrobial guidelines
- Strengthening diagnostic capacity across seven laboratories
- Introducing One Health governance structures linking human, animal, and environmental health
- Helping PNG become the first Pacific Island nation to contribute data to WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS)
Her message highlighted the value of partnerships, context-specific solutions, community involvement, and the need for continued global solidarity in addressing AMR, particularly in low-resource contexts.
Lightning Talks: Innovation Across the AMR Landscape
Dr Ruby Biezen; Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne shared insights from the APEx-PC program, which uses automated algorithms to assess antibiotic prescribing patterns in general practice.
Her work reinforces the vital role of primary care in AMS, given that 80% of antibiotics in Australia are prescribed in general practice.
Dr Sajal Saha, Research Fellow, CIIDIR presented research on point-of-care CRP and Group A Streptococcus testing in primary care and community pharmacy settings, demonstrating their potential to reduce diagnostic uncertainty and unnecessary antibiotic use in primary care and pharmacy settings.
Key findings include:
- High feasibility of CRP testing in general practice
- Reduced antibiotic prescribing when rapid diagnostics are available
- Strong GP and pharmacist support for collaborative care models
- The need for funding, policy support, and cost-effectiveness studies before national rollout
Janice Chiang, AMS and Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, (Barwon Health) showcased Barwon Health’s growing penicillin allergy delabelling program, enabling safer antibiotic use and reducing reliance on broad-spectrum agents. She discussed the significant clinical impact of inaccurate penicillin allergy labels, which affect up to 15% of patients but are incorrect in more than 90% of cases.
Barwon Health’s delabelling program achieved:
- Formal assessment and clarification for 143 patients
- 37 successful inpatient oral penicillin challenges
- Improved access to first-line antibiotics and reduced use of broad-spectrum agents
- A growing contribution to Victoria’s collaborative penicillin allergy database
Her message was clear: Penicillin delabelling is one of the most cost-effective AMS interventions availabl.
Dr Kwee Chin Liew, Clinical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician outlined emerging diagnostic technologies, including rapid molecular assays, biosensors, and whole-genome sequencing, and how these tools can support early detection, targeted therapy, and antimicrobial stewardship.
Her insights noted:
- The essential role of diagnostics in early detection and stewardship
- Barwon Health’s adoption of advanced platforms such as BioFire, GeneXpert, T2 assays, and metagenomics collaborations
- Future pathways using AI, automation, and microfluidics
- The need for integrated national frameworks and sustained investment
Looking Ahead: A Shared Responsibility
A final panel discussion explored the critical role of community awareness, policy support, and interprofessional collaboration in addressing AMR. Speakers emphasised that solutions require joint action across clinical care, research, primary care, laboratories, and the public.
Panelists emphasised that AMR is everyone’s responsibility, and that sustainable solutions rely on:
- Better communication between sectors
- Evidence-based advocacy
- Community-centred awareness campaigns
- Leadership from clinicians, policymakers, and health services
- Culturally relevant, locally designed interventions
As Dr Mothobi reminded the room, “Bacteria has no borders. AMR is a global problem, and it requires global solidarity and action.”
Through ongoing research, education, partnerships, and community engagement, CIIDIR remains committed to advancing AMR research and strengthening partnerships across Victoria and the region. As one speaker noted, “AMR is everyone’s business, and tackling it requires all of us.”
