Faces of antimicrobial resistance

AMR can affect anyone – but many people don’t realise it until it happens to them. To highlight the universal nature of this public health issue, we’re sharing this collection of AMR stories gathered from staff across our organisation.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is where bacteria and other microbes develop resistance, through overexposure, to the drugs designed to kill them.

As this phenomenon grows, the risks to modern medicine increase as common surgeries become too risky to perform.

The Minimising AMR team is working with government, industry and research partners to connect, coordinate and cultivate new strategies and technologies to ensure antimicrobials, such as antibiotics, remain effective.

Alexandra Bratanova, Research Scientist, Data61

I first heard about antimicrobial resistance when working on our Megatrends report.

It scared me, but I never thought it would affect me personally – until my father was hospitalised with COVID and subsequently acquired an AMR infection.

Before my father got sick, he had always been healthy – loving life – but this infection changed all that.

He spent a month fighting for life. But he sadly passed away. He was only 62.

I am keen to see more work done in this area. And I hope I can contribute in memory of my dad.

Brett Sutton, Research Unit Director

As a medical student in the late 80s, we were taught about AMR. But it was all theoretic to me at that time.

The most memorable – and traumatic – experience I had with AMR was while working for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Afghanistan in 2003. We were running a tuberculosis (TB) treatment program in a camp for internally displaced people.

One of our patients, a woman in her 20s, wasn’t responding to any of the treatments. She had acquired drug-resistant TB.

When her husband asked about her condition, we had to tell him to prepare her funeral shroud; we knew there was nothing that could be done.

She passed away within a few weeks, leaving behind her husband and three children. Despite a comprehensive treatment program, we couldn’t save this young woman’s life.

AMR is a wicked problem, and wicked problems need systems thinking and layered, systemic solutions to address them.

We should understand where points of influence exist and where most impact can be leveraged.

Holly Vuong, Senior Government Engagement Advisor

As a student, I learned about AMR through courses on disease ecology, immunology, and related subjects.

Like many women, I experience recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) and have been prescribed various antibiotics over the years.

My concerns about AMR became very real during my last infection, when tests showed I had an antibiotic-resistant strain of E. coli.

It took three rounds of different antibiotics over several months before we found one that worked.

There needs to be more research outside of drug use to help women in this situation. This means more work on vaccines and other preventive medicines, understanding biofilm and urinary tract microbiome, drivers of UTIs, and women’s health in general.

Atul Kacker, Business Development Manager

I had known about AMR for a long time, but its impact had never felt personal. That changed when my father developed an antimicrobial-resistant UTI, making the issue very real for me.

My father had a couple of hospital stays for different courses of antibiotics but saw limited improvement.

He developed septicaemia – poisoning of the blood – as a result of the infection, and unfortunately passed away shortly after that.

To address AMR we need collaboration and coordination across sectors to streamline solutions.

Jen Payne, Research Scientist, Manufacturing

I had considered UTIs as ‘simple’ low-risk infections.

My go-to treatment was to drink more water to flush the bad bugs out. Though, on one occasion I had an infection that turned from a UTI to sepsis.

I needed a trip to emergency, where they determined I had an antibiotic-resistant infection.

It took three different courses of antibiotics, and many months to recover from this ‘simple’ infection.

We need more advocacy, more awareness – more people need to understand how serious and widespread this issue is.

Jen Phillips, Customer & Information Specialist

In 2011, I contracted a multi-drug-resistant parasite infection.

I had to go through a series of increasingly comprehensive antibiotic treatments which all failed. It was years before I was finally ‘cured’, but I’d dealt with the resistant infection so long, I developed permanent side effects.

I now live with functional dyspepsia (gastroparesis) and the food intolerances which resulted.

We need action. This is happening now.

Kylie Hewson, Animal Health and Environment Lead

My mother-in-law developed a diabetic ulcer on her foot – a very common problem for people with diabetes. But unfortunately, this ulcer became infected with a resistant bacteria.

My mother-in-law’s infection didn’t respond to any of the treatments. She ended up needing part of her foot amputated and had to leave the workforce early due to this resistant infection.

AMR is an issue that isn’t going away. And everyone can be affected – humans, animals, even the environment. We must take action and work together.

Teresa Wozniak, Research Scientist

I studied AMR at uni, but my actual realisation was a few years later in my early 20s…

I started getting recurrent UTIs, and I realised that each time I was prescribed an antibiotic, the infection did not resolve.

I struggled for years as the infections occurred more and more frequently. I was visiting the GP every month to get treatment.

I eventually decided this was getting out of hand and demanded a referral for a scan of further tests. A diagnostic clinic quickly identified that I had duplex ureters, and one side was so twisted and inflamed that I had wastage of most of my right kidney.

I had kidney surgery, and I have not had a UTI since.

We need more awareness of AMR, and better diagnostics to identify these resistant infections to ensure patient safety.

The One Health approach

AMR affects people of all ages and in diverse ways, as shown through these stories.

Infections caused by resistant microbes can be difficult – or even impossible – to treat, making AMR a critical issue that demands coordinated action across human, animal, and environmental sectors. This is known as a One Health approach. The Minimising AMR team is working to halt the rising death rate and economic burden of antimicrobial resistance in Australia by 2030.

This will be achieved by enabling and accelerating research and development, and providing pathways to market for new and emerging solutions to prevent, manage and respond to AMR in humans, animal and the environment.

Read more about Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance.