NBIC Announce Second Biofilm Week: 18-24 November 2022
We are thrilled to announce that Biofilm Week 2022 will take place from 18-24 November to coincide with World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), which we hope will highlight the relationship between Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and biofilms.
Microbes live as members of communities, and these are called biofilms. They can have an enormous impact on human life and the health of the planet. NBIC’s market analysis shows their total global economic significance to be $4 trillion(1).
What is the relationship between biofilms and antimicrobial resistance?
Our industry partners Perfectus Biomed explain this in a recent news article:
It is reported that 80% of the bacterial infections that we acquire are biofilm-related(2) and biofilm causes persistent and recurrent infections that respond poorly to antibiotics. Despite the acknowledgement of the implications of biofilms in chronic infections, its role in antibiotic resistance has been largely overlooked. Biofilms must be considered synonymously with antibiotic resistance because of their proficiency in transferring resistance genes as well as its innate phenotypic tolerance to antibiotics(2).
The natural link between AMR and biofilms creates an alarming threat and catalyst in chronic infections. There is a significant need for new antimicrobial strategies to disrupt biofilms, enhancing the action of antimicrobial agents, and reducing the opportunity for antibiotic resistance gene transfer within biofilms. Along with clinical strategies there is also a need for greater awareness and acknowledgement of the relationship between AMR and biofilms, this is crucial to slowing the progression of AMR.
We are calling on biofilm scientists in both academia and industry to use this awareness week as a platform to showcase their research and technologies across social media; whether it be through written or video blogs, educational activities, or sharing images related to their work and applications in use. Our #BiofilmWeek webpage includes branded social media templates and a set of talking points to help the biofilm community produce their own content to post throughout the week. The webpage also includes educational resources and activities, and a variety of downloadable branded assets for use across all social media channels.
Throughout #BiofilmWeek we will be highlighting interesting and exciting research taking place across our research institutions and will announce the winners of our recent national Biofilm Create! Art and Photography Competition.
If you’re interested in supporting, or taking part in #BiofilmWeek, a range of resources are available via our #BiofilmWeek page.
This awareness week is part of our wider #BiofilmAware campaign, which is all about helping people to understand what biofilms are and why biofilms are so important.
1) Cámara, M., Green, W., MacPhee, C.E. et al. Economic significance of biofilms: a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral challenge. npj Biofilms Microbiomes 8, 42 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-022-00306-y.
2) Bowler, P., Murphy, C., Wolcott. R., Biofilm exacerbates antibiotic resistance: Is this a current oversight in antimicrobial stewardship?. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control9, 162 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-020-00830-6.