Webinars

During the covid -19 outbreak, all the major physical outreach activities came to standstill across all the universities in the consortium. However PREVENT IT – core team came up with an innovative way of reaching out to the masses through our webinar series which was initiated in June 2020. The webinars cover a variety of topics from professionals who are very much aware and concerned about the impact of Antibiotics Resistance as a phenomenon that can occur in the future. From then on every month PREVENT IT – RISK MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION OF ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANCE project deliver webinars through their official youtube channel PREVENT IT.  All the webinars are showcased in the current web page with content desicription which can help you access webinars of your interest.

The Global AMR R&D Hub: Supporting Evidence-based Decision Making

The on-going antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious developmental threat. The problem is multifaceted and catastrophic. A successful response to AMR will address not only antimicrobials but also diagnostics, vaccines and alternatives to antibiotics for different sectors. There are multiple challenges in research and development (R&D) and to access to AMR- related health technologies. Recognizing this, a webinar was organized by Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal, titled, “The Global AMR R&D Hub: Supporting Evidence-Based Decision Making” on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Dr. Lesley Ogilvie, Senior scientific Programme Officer at Global AMR R&D Hub was the resource person, discussed the role of AMR R&D Hub to generate and strengthen coordinated efforts to deal with AMR. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

Antimicrobial Resistance and Strategies to Tackle the Problem

The development of antimicrobials saved many lives – be it humans, animals or plants. However, with the passage of time, the increase in improper consumption of these drugs coupled with poor hygiene and sanitation stimulated the microbes to become stronger and thus gained the capacity to survive in the presence of antimicrobials. This is termed antimicrobial resistance. These resistant organisms can spread from one place to another and know no boundaries. Currently, Antimicrobial resistance is recognised as a global public health threat. We need to act right now to stop the spread of this global threat. We have various strategies that can be used across various sectors to prevent and control the spread of antimicrobial resistance. In this regard, we organized a webinar on 3rd August 2021 (Tuesday) from 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm (Indian Standard Time) by Dr Sujith J Chandy, Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore who is the best in the field. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

Surveillance of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India

The clinical decisions about empirical treatment require knowledge of the likely pathogen(s) and the likely susceptibility of these pathogens to antibiotics. Such knowledge is gained in part by clinical experience over time, but more objectively and robustly through surveillance. Hence, it is important to understand the surveillance system of AMR while heading towards the control and prevention of emergence as well as the spread of AMR. In this regard, we held a webinar on 19th July 2021 from 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm (Indian Standard Time) by Dr. Vikas Aggarwal, Regional Coordinator-South Asia, Fleming Fund Management Agent, who has an extensive experience in the field. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

AMR crossing continents: Policy Coherence in International Trade Regulations

Antimicrobial Resistance and trade intersect in many ways. On a fundamental level, the mobility of humans, animals, and goods is linked to the dissemination of micro-organisms and there is a clear connection between travel routes and the evolution of AMR. Effective governance and regulations are required for optimizing antimicrobial use to protect global health and achieve economic growth. In this regard, we organized a webinar on 24th June 2021 (Thursday) from 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm (Indian Standard Time) by Dr. Sanjay Pattanshetty, Associate Professor- Department of Health Policy, Co-ordinator- Centre for Health Systems, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, who had extensive research experience in the implementation science, situation analysis, and policy discourse. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

Pause & Rewind: Simple techniques to build a MOOC

The Massive Open Online Course movement has caught the public attention for nearly 10 years now. Free online courses available to millions of people all over the world. However, these MOOCs are mostly delivered by large universities in rich countries that have the financial resources to develop quality productions. This approach is not suitable for institutions with fewer resources, or smaller audiences. In this regard, we organized a webinar on 19th May 2021, the Guest Speaker being Mr. Brian Mulligan- the Head of Online Learning Innovation, Centre for Online Learning, Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland. This webinar showed how simple and cost effective techniques can be used to provide quality learning experience. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

Diagnosis of drug-resistant microbe for better health outcomes

The webinar was organised on 17th April 2021 with Dr. Suman Kapur as the eminent speaker. Dr. Kapur is a Senior Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Hyderabad. This webinar shed light on the importance of rapid diagnosis methods to curb the incidence of ABR. The participants gained insights into the limitations of conventional ABR diagnosis methods. The attendees also got an overview of emerging technologies of ABR diagnosis, especially regarding the rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

My journey as an ABR survivor: Lessons Learned

PREVENT IT team organized yet another interesting webinar on 19th March 2021 by the warrior herself, Ms. Vanessa Carter. She shared her journey of survival in the battle against drug-resistant infection. She is an e-Patient Scholar at Stanford University Medicine X as well as antibiotic resistance and one health activist. She had a chance to work in the Antibiotic Guardian Pledge Campaign in South Africa which was later adopted by the National Department of Health. The participants were introduced to a new realm- 'e-patient' and what is the role in the fight against health-related complications. She emphasized the most important aspect­ 'communication', essential for the treatment and prevention of ABR. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

Superbug and Me : A Journey

Personal stories convey the severity of the problem and show a path to solve the problem. Hence, on 23rd February 2021, we organized a webinar on a real-life story. The guest speaker of the webinar was Mr. Himanshu Patel, an ABR survivor. About 2.4 million Indians become infected with TB every year and our speaker fought against drug-resistant TB and stood with others for the same. He addressed the reality of ABR, allowing us to capture the drug-resistant infections from an altogether different angle- the angle of a patient and a survivor. The video can be accessed by the LINK.

Economic Aspects of Antimicrobial Resistance

This webinar was delivered by Mr Romans Putans Head of Study Programme, International Business and Sustainable Economy ,Head of the Department, Department of International Business and Economics Academic Staff, Department of International Business and Economics. on 25th January 2021. A new dimension to this topic was brought by Mr Romans Putans from RIGA who talked about how economically countries can suffer due to Antimicrobial Resistance.The video can be accessed by LINK.

Use of Botanicals

The discovery of antibiotics in the previous century led to a reduction in mortality and morbidity due to infectious diseases but their inappropriate and irrational use has resulted in the emergence of resistant microbial populations. Alteration of target sites, active efflux of drugs, and enzymatic degradations are the strategies employed by the pathogenic bacteria to develop intrinsic resistance to antibiotics. This has led to an increased interest in medicinal plants since 25–50% of current pharmaceuticals are plant-derived. In this webinar, we will explore the scope of botanicals to combat Antibiotics Resistance. The webinar is delivered by Dr Tannaza Birdi. The webinar was streamed on 21st Dec 2020.The video can be accessed by click on the LINK.

United to Preserve Antibiotics

In order to combat this situation, WAAW (World Antimicrobial Awareness Week) aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers, and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. In this regard, we planned a webinar on the theme in alignment with the World Health Organization (WHO) i.e. “United to preserve antibiotics”. It provided a golden opportunity to listen and interact with one of the eminent speakers, Dr. Jyoti Joshi, Head of South Asia. Listening to her, helped us to understand the role in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. The video can be accessed by click on the LINK.

Challenges of Infection Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship

The concept of Infection Prevention and Control is not ancient but has gained a lot of momentum during the time of COVID-19. On one hand, our healthcare professionals are putting tremendous efforts to combat the situation; but the parallel non-prudent usage of antibiotics makes the situation worrisome. In order to address this issue, we must understand the loopholes and challenges being faced by our life-savers. This webinar specifically targets this problem. This webinar was delivered by Dr. Carlos Palos, MD, Assistant Professor of Adult and Elderly Pathology Curricula Unit, Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal. He is also the coordinator of the Infection Control and Antimicrobial Resistance Group from Luz Saúde and Hospital Beatriz Ângelo, Portugal. He shared his point of view on the topic “Challenges of Infection Prevention & Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship during the COVID-19 Pandemic ” on 20th October 2020 from 01:30 pm to 02:30 pm (Indian Standard Time). The video can be accesed by click on the LINK.

ONE HEALTH: Links in the spread of Antibiotics Resistance

Our next webinar which focusses on the One Health approach. The topic recognizes the health of people is closely related to animal health and shared environment. It is not a new concept but has got a lot of attention in the recent past. In order to address the rising threat of antibiotic resistance, we require a one health approach because antibiotic resistance does not recognize geographic boundaries or human-animal borders. Mr. Dr.B.Sunil, Professor of Veterinary Public Health affiliated with the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Thrissur, Kerala. Dr. Sunil is an ardent advocate of one health and policy. He shared his point of view on the topic “One health: Links in the spread of antibiotic resistance” on 19th September 2020 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (Indian Standard Time. The video can be accessed by click on the LINK.

MOOC and Online Teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives, and the education sector is no exception. The adoption, designing and execution of online teaching tools has been the best solution as far as the education sector is concerned. One such platform is Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). In this regard, Team Prevent IT conducted a webinar by Dr. Danielle Verstegen, Programme Director of the Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) program affiliated with Maastricht University, Netherlands. She shared her experiences and learned lessons on the topic “ MOOC & online teaching” on 26th August 2020 for approxamility an hour which also included question and answer section from audience. The video of webinar can be accessed by clicking on the LINK.

Milk Black or White?

Milk is an extensively used food product and is considered as a "Complete food" itself. But is it safe or contains some lurking danger!! In regard to this we conducted a webinar to all for social media, student community by Prof. Alfonso Zecconi, affiliated with the Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental sciences- One health Unit, University of Milano. He shared his insights with us on the topic "Milk: white or black" on 16th July 2020 from 3:00pm till 4:00pm (IST). The video can be accessed by clicking on the LINK. .

Superbugs - The upcoming pandemic

In these testing times of pandemic, we are trying to make our community more aware about the Super-bugs. In regard we conducted a free webinar to all our followers by Dr Sanjeev K Singh ,Chief Medical Superintendent & HOD of Infection Control and Epidemiology. Affiliated with Department of Medical Administration, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, India. He shared his insights with us on topic Superbugs: The Upcoming Pandemic on 18th June 2020 from 3:00 PM till 4:00 . The webinar can be accessed through this LINK.