AMR in our futures

If manufacturing can navigate through a recession, it can make its way through the minefield of a future wave of superbugs. But that’s a big ‘if’. When setting a scene for Australian manufacturers on what to watch for in their futures, there’s not much light on the horizon right now other than a polycrisis. But let’s give it a go. Advances in technology, such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI), have the potential to disrupt traditional industries and are now drastically reshaping the manufacturing jobs market. When technology drives productivity and innovation, and reskilling doesn’t keep pace, it can lead to job displacement and increased income inequality. I’ll stop here cos I’m telling you stuff you already know. Fiscal and monetary splurges made in response to global COVID lockdowns have also ignited consumer demand for technology and other supplies. Combined with severe disruptions to the supply chains wrought by that same global pandemic and various theatres of war, inflation has ensued globally at levels not seen in decades. You might have seen the news. We are still trying to tame that monster. One extra spanner accelerating towards our collective works is the battle between antibiotics and bacteria. The rise of AntiMicrobial Resistance (AMR) happens when bacteria, viruses and fungi develop the ability to defeat the medications designed to control them. As the climate crisis worsens, AMR has emerged in several extra ways: higher temperatures increase both the rate of bacterial growth and the spread rate of antibiotic-resistant genes between micro-organisms. As we head toward summer in Australia, we only need to read what is happening now in the northen hemisphere to sample what we have in store. Severe weather and flooding can lead to conditions of overcrowding, poor sanitation and increased pollution, which are known to increase infection rates as oils, heavy metals and other pollutants and waste in water create favourable conditions for bugs to develop resistance. The battleground is not only in hospitals, but also our manufacturing workplaces, assembly lines where food is produced, or anywhere manufacturing production humidity levels may not be controlled as closely as it should. Will it be necessary in future to adopt cleanroom environments when manufacturing anything humans might go near? Developing and validating methods for measuring AMR, pathogens and residues in complex environments will need to be improved in hospitals, clinics and food manufacturing sites. Industries will use AMR data and insights to optimise their procurement, production and waste management practices. This will improve safety, security and protect the production, and wider environment. Close market intelligence scrutiny will help secure international access and safeguard export growth in jurisdictions with more stringent safety requirements. As AMR becomes a more clear and present danger, the import/export markets of almost everything will have to be monitored even more closely. Data and insights will help raise community awareness of AMR and ensure confidence in participating sectors’ AMR mitigation strategies. In the very brightest of futures, Australia’s manufacturers will be successful in adopting cost-effective and efficient interventions, reducing and removing AMR elements and residues from industry value chains and environments. Human health will benefit from new vaccines and more effective antimicrobial stewardship in receiving environments. New and improved AMR solutions will allow business operations to increase productivity and reduce losses across industrial supply chains, better positioning the sector to reach the Australian Government’s Ag2030 productivity targets. Let’s hope I’m right.