WHO has launched new guidelines on use of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals, recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals. These guidelines aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their use in animals.

Reports on the emergence and prevalence of resistant bacterial infections in hospitals and communities raise concerns that we may soon no longer be able to rely on antibiotics as a way to control infectious diseases. Effective medical care would require the constant introduction of novel antibiotics to keep up in the “arms race” with resistant pathogens. This book closely examines the latest developments in the field of antibacterial research and development. It starts with an overview of the growing prevalence of resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, including their various resistance mechanisms, prevalence, risk factors and therapeutic options. The focus then shifts to a comprehensive description of all major chemical classes with antibacterial properties, their chemistry, mode of action, and the generation of analogs; information that provides the basis for the design of improved molecules to defeat microbial infections and combat the emerging resistances. In closing, recently developed compounds already in clinical use, those in preclinical or first clinical studies, and a number of promising targets to be exploited in the discovery stage are discussed.

Nanostructures for Antimicrobial Therapy discusses the pros and cons of the use of nanostructured materials in the prevention and eradication of infections, highlighting the efficient microbicidal effect of nanoparticles against antibiotic-resistant pathogens and biofilms. Conventional antibiotics are becoming ineffective towards microorganisms due to their widespread and often inappropriate use. As a result, the development of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms is increasingly being reported. New approaches are needed to confront the rising issues related to infectious diseases. The merging of biomaterials, such as chitosan, carrageenan, gelatin, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) with nanotechnology provides a promising platform for antimicrobial therapy as it provides a controlled way to target cells and induce the desired response without the adverse effects common to many traditional treatments. Nanoparticles represent one of the most promising therapeutic treatments to the problem caused by infectious micro-organisms resistant to traditional therapies. This volume discusses this promise in detail, and also discusses what challenges the greater use of nanoparticles might pose to medical professionals. The unique physiochemical properties of nanoparticles, combined with their growth inhibitory capacity against microbes has led to the upsurge in the research on nanoparticles as antimicrobials. The importance of bactericidal nanobiomaterials study will likely increase as development of resistant strains of bacteria against most potent antibiotics continues. - Shows how nanoantibiotics can be used to more effectively treat disease - Discusses the advantages and issues of a variety of different nanoantibiotics, enabling medics to select which best meets their needs - Provides a cogent summary of recent developments in this field, allowing readers to quickly familiarize themselves with this topic area

Natural additives are increasingly favoured over synthetic ones as methods of ensuring food safety and long shelf-life. The antimicrobial properties of both plant-based antimicrobials such as essential oils and proteins such as bacteriocins are used in, for example, edible preservative films, in food packaging and in combination with synthetic preservatives for maximum efficacy. New developments in delivery technology such as nanoencapsulation also increase the potential of natural antimicrobials for widespread use in industry. Part one introduces the different types of natural antimicrobials for food applications. Part two covers methods of application, and part three looks at determining the effectiveness of natural antimicrobials in food. Part four focuses on enhancing quality and safety, and includes chapters on specific food products. - Reviews different types of antimicrobials used in food safety and quality - Covers how antimicrobials are created to be used in different foods - Examines how the antimicrobials are used in foods to enhance the safety and quality

Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities. The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U.S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.

Humans coexist with millions of harmless microorganisms, but emerging diseases, resistance to antibiotics, and the threat of bioterrorism are forcing scientists to look for new ways to confront the microbes that do pose a danger. This report identifies innovative approaches to the development of antimicrobial drugs and vaccines based on a greater understanding of how the human immune system interacts with both good and bad microbes. The report concludes that the development of a single superdrug to fight all infectious agents is unrealistic.

The first book to offer practical guidelines on the prudent andrational use of antimicrobials in animals. Drawing onmultidisciplinary expertise to offer independent scientific adviceon a controversial area that is crucial to both human health andanimal welfare. The earlier general chapters cover issues such ashuman health risks and the problems of resistance to antimicrobialdrugs. The later specific chapters are dedicated to particulargroups of animals. Has an emphasis on preserving the efficacy of antimicrobialdrugs that are clinically important in human medicine Covers both companion animals and food animals, includingaquaculture Suitable for veterinary practitioners working in small andlarge animal medicine, aquaculture and animal production, as wellas veterinary students, academics and researchers. It will also beof interest to those more generally involved in veterinary publichealth and antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS), Volume Two includes the experience of ESGAP workshops and courses on antibiotic stewardship since 2012. It combines clinical and laboratory information about AMS, with a focus on human medicine. The ESCMID study group on antibiotic policies (ESGAP) is one of the most productive groups in the field, organizing courses and workshops. This book is an ideal tool for the participants of these workshops. With short chapters (around 1500 words) written on different topics, the authors insisted on the following points: A 'hands on', practical approach, tips to increase success, a description of the most common mistakes, a global picture (out- and inpatient settings, all countries) and a short list of 10-20 landmark references. - Focuses on the most recent antimicrobial stewardship strategies - Provides a detailed description of laboratory support - Offers a balanced synthesis of basic and clinical sciences for each individual case, presenting clinical courses of the cases in parallel with the pathogenesis and detailed microbiological information for each infection - Describes the prevalence and incidence of the global issues and current therapeutic approaches - Presents the measures for infection control

There is a high demand for antimicrobials for the treatment of new and emerging microbial diseases. In particular, microbes developing multidrug resistance have created a pressing need to search for a new generation of antimicrobial agents, which are effective, safe and can be used for the cure of multidrug-resistant microbial infections. Nano-antimicrobials offer effective solutions for these challenges; the details of these new technologies are presented here. The book includes chapters by an international team of experts. Chemical, physical, electrochemical, photochemical and mechanical methods of synthesis are covered. Moreover, biological synthesis using microbes, an option that is both eco-friendly and economically viable, is presented. The antimicrobial potential of different nanoparticles is also covered, bioactivity mechanisms are elaborated on, and several applications are reviewed in separate sections. Lastly, the toxicology of nano-antimicrobials is briefly assessed.