Current News
October 07, 2024
Congratulations to Paris on her successful CGS-M scholarship from SSHRC!
As a result of the drought conditions within Calgary, Alberta's primary watershed sources, the Bow River and Elbow River, there is an inadequate amount of fresh water supply for the city to meet the demands of its residents, municipalities, recreational facilities, and businesses. The city has been forcibly entered into Stage 1 of Mandatory Water Restrictions with other Albertan cities and cities globally also facing threat to. To help facilitate societal acceptance of water reuse as an adaptive response, Paris' work focuses on understanding perceptions of water reuse to guide the development of a water-reuse community of practice in Alberta and inform the implementation of water-reuse policies for other cities in Canada that have similar public and social impediments that hinder the adoption of a water-reuse drought resilience plan. This scholarship is provided by SSHRC to support high calibre graduate students in their studies. There are about 1000 awards given per year and so there is a rigorous selection process. Paris was one of these successful applicants! Again, congrats, Paris!
September 28, 2024
Markus is at it again!
Markus Gaenzle was off again to present his work at the 2024 World Congress of Epidemiology and the 2024 World One Health Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. He had a chance to present his updated work on the resistome profile of waste water isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. He engaged in meaningful discussions with experts from many fields of study related to Epidemiology and One Health and even took home some new research ideas of his own. What a great trip!
September 16, 2024
Successful CIHR Health Research Training Platform Funding!
Congratulations to Dr. Simon Otto, co-lead for the Canadian One Health Antimicrobial Resistance Health Research Training Network (CAN-AMR-Net), which has been granted $2.7 million in funding from CIHR’s Health Research Training Platform. The project will bring researchers and public and private stakeholders together from across Canada to create an AMR research training platform. The Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at the University of Alberta is also supporting this initiative, providing $10,000 of funding annually over six years. Dr. Otto is looking forward to being involved in the development of training for the next generation of AMR experts.
August 16, 2024
Congratulations to Etienne on his successful MSc defence!
On August 16, 2024, Etienne successfully defended his MSc thesis! Congratulations Etienne! His thesis entitled: “Antimicrobial stewardship in British Columbia farmed finfish: linking antimicrobial use and resistance in the context of Yellow Mouth disease”. He will convocate from the University of Alberta, School of Public Health with an MSc in Epidemiology Certificate in Communicable Diseases! After defending his thesis, Etienne is back in his third year of veterinary school at the University of Calgary and will continue to complete his DVM by 2026. Good luck Etienne!
August 15, 2024
Congratulations to Rebecca on her successful MSc defence!
On August 15, 2025, Rebecca defended her thesis entitled “Understanding Yellowmouth: Reeling in the Root of Antimicrobial Use in British Columbia Salmonid Production”. She will convocate from the University of Alberta, School of Public Health with an MSc in Epidemiology and a Certificate in Communicable Diseases! Since her defence, Rebecca is back at veterinary school at the University of Calgary and will continue on to complete her DVM in the next two years. Good luck Rebecca!
July 23, 2024
It’s Conference Season!
Markus Gaenzle had a great time at the 7th Environmental Dimension of Antimicrobial Resistance (EDAR7) in Montreal this past May! Seeing the research being done on the OneHealth aspects of the AMR crisis was a fascinating and eye-opening experience, and he feels like he learned a lot about the bigger picture that his research fits into. He particularly appreciated the opportunity to share insights and perspectives with other people working with wastewater and/or Klebsiella spp.
Mar 01, 2024
The HEAT-AMR team welcomes a new project manager, Ellen!
Ellen Sykes, the new project manager, is thrilled to be welcomed to the HEAT-AMR team. She is just finishing her PhD from the University of Manitoba where she studied the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii from an AMR One Health perspective. She notes that this position within the HEAT-AMR team is a unique opportunity to combine many of the skills she already has from her scientific technical background but also learn new project and grant management skills. She is excited to take on this new challenge and is settling into the role!
2023
November 1-2nd, 2023
Dr. Otto presents at AMR in Bioaerosols Symposium!
Dr. Simon Otto provided one of two keynote presentations on Nov 2, 2023 at the recent AMR in Bioaerosols Symposium hosted at the Université Laval. This symposium highlighted the research from a large group of projects on AMR in bioaerosols in built and natural environments funded by the NSERC Discovery Frontiers program and led by Dr. Caroline Duchaine at the Université Laval. Simon’s talk, titled “Environmental AMR Surveillance: Where do we go from here?” explored the important role and developing inclusion of the environment in integrated, One Health AMR/AMU surveillance. Simon walked through the importance of defining objectives for environmental AMR surveillance and spoke about the challenges with and opportunities for research in environmental AMR risk assessment, with a particular focus on the importance of bioaerosols. Simon also sat on the concluding panel to discuss the important roles of AMR in bioaerosols. This represents one of the next frontiers in AMR research. The strong work investigating AMR bioaerosols in the NSERC Discovery Frontiers project should be leveraged for future opportunities in environmental AMR surveillance in Canada.
Thursday, October 19th, 2023
“The Quad”, University of Alberta, Innovator Spotlight: Simon Otto
Check out the University of Alberta Innovator Spotlight featuring Dr. Simon Otto.
Link to the article available here: https://www.ualberta.ca/the-quad/2023/10/innovator-spotlight-simon-otto.html
Thursday May 25th, 2023
Funto becomes a Canadian Citizen!
By: Funto Adewusi
Embarking on the journey to Canadian citizenship as a Nigerian immigrant has been transformative. Despite the emotional challenges of starting over, Canada's reputation for inclusivity and abundant opportunities influenced my decision. I applied through the Federal Skilled Worker Program and became a permanent resident in 2019. Navigating the immigration system required compiling extensive documentation such as proof of age, education, work experience, language proficiency, and adaptability.
Upon arrival, we embraced Canadian values and actively participated in community events. Joining the HEAT-AMR research group provided invaluable support, making my integration seamless. To become a citizen, I prepared for and passed the Canadian citizenship test, which assessed my knowledge of Canada's history, geography, and values. Celebrating Canadian citizenship at the ceremony was a moment of great pride, and now I have the privilege of participating in elections and shaping my community. This journey from Nigeria to Canadian citizenship has been life-changing, and I hope to inspire others on their path.
Tuesday, May 9th, 2023
New publication!
Christine Neustaedter, Dana Tschritter, Kelsey Robertson, and Dr. Simon Otto worked with collaborators at the Public Health Agency of Canada on a new scoping review titled, ‘A scoping review of factors associated with antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter species infections in humans’ recently published in Epidemiology and Infection. This review mapped and synthesized the current literature and identified 7 broad factors (including animal contact, prior antimicrobial use, food and food preparation, travel, water, underlying conditions, and patient characteristics) associated with antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter infection in humans. Future research in this area would benefit from a One Health approach to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the interconnections between multiple factors that affect human, animal and environmental health.
April 24-25th, 2023
Dr. Otto participates in Future of AMR Policy workshop!
Dr. Otto was invited to participate in an Expert Workshop on the Future of AMR Policy hosted by the AMR Policy Accelerator of the Global Strategy Lab at York University on April 24-25, 2023. This group of 40 international AMR experts came together to discuss challenging global AMR policy and governance issues that included: identification of AMR policy options that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; how to incorporate gender and broader equity and inclusivity dimensions into future AMR policy across One Health sectors; and consideration of One Health multisectoral governance mechanisms to improve AMR coordination within governments. Experts spanned five continents and all three One Health sectors and came from a range of academic, national and international government organizations. The two days of discussion provide a foundation for future AMR policy options that will come out of the AMR Policy Accelerator, an initiative funded by Wellcome Trust. The rich dialogue and networking will foster new relationships and collaborations that will support these policy initiatives.
Monday, April 3rd, 2023
Markus awarded the CGS-M NSERC Scholarship!
Markus Gaenzle received the Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master’s Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Walter H John Graduate Fellowship from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. These awards will help fund Markus’ research into the evolution of water treatment resistance, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogenicity in wastewater Klebsiella pneumoniae. Congratulations Markus on two very well deserved awards!
2022
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Christine Convocates!
Congratulations to Christine Neustaedter who convocated from the University of Alberta, School of Public Health with an MSc in Epidemiology and an embedded certificate in Communicable Diseases! Christine’s thesis titled, Antimicrobial Resistant Campylobacter species in the Food Chain: Understanding the Human Risk of Infection contributes to the field of public health by summarizing current knowledge on risk factors for human exposure to antimicrobial resistant (AMR) Campylobacter, and provides the first integrated assessment model to estimate exposure to AMR Campylobacter from broiler chickens among Canadians. Since graduation, Christine has been working for Ontario Health as a senior analyst for the Cancer Surveillance and Research department, and previously worked for Alberta Health Services as an analyst for surveillance and reporting.
September 26th - 28th, 2022
The HEAT-AMR team traveled to Banff for the AMR - One Health Consortium Annual Retreat!
The HEAT-AMR team enjoyed connecting with AMR - One Health Consortium members during the annual retreat hosted in Banff, September 26th-28th 2022. Over the three days, there were a number of engaging speakers presenting on diverse topics including networking, commercialization/ entrepreneurship, and policy development.
The second day of the retreat wrapped up with a poster session where Etienne de Jongh, Rebecca Wassmuth, and Markus Gaenzle had an opportunity to share updates on their MSc projects. Kelsey Robertson and Dr. Simon Otto prepared a poster update on the work package led by Dr. Simon Otto titled “Human exposure to and risk from antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter, Enterococcus, and ESBL E. coli: A Farm-to-Fork Assessment”. A project snapshot can be found here.
Etienne’s poster shared results on antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the British Columbia finfish aquaculture industry between 2004-2018. Integrated AMU/AMR surveillance is important to track AMU and AMR trends to help inform the development of antimicrobial stewardship policy and programs.
Rebecca’s poster summarized the work to date on a scoping review on factors associated with disease in farmed and wild salmonids caused by Tenacibaculum maritimum. Understanding the factors that may contribute to the development of disease can help inform prevention strategies, with the goal of reducing the use of antimicrobials to treat illness.
Markus’ poster shared results on heat resistance of K. pneumoniae isolates found in sewage samples taken from various Alberta wastewater treatment plants. This research is important for identifying bacterial strains that may be able to survive wastewater treatment disinfection processes that also possess resistance to antimicrobials.
Check out the posters here.
The team had a great time at the retreat, and we look forward to next year!
August 7th - 12th, 2022
The HEAT-AMR team travels to Halifax for ISVEE, 2022!
The HEAT-AMR team had an excellent time attending the 16th International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, hosted in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The conference was 5 days long, and brought together 650+ international attendees from over 40 countries to discuss connecting animals, people and their shared environments. It was a great opportunity to share ideas and work, meet colleagues and friends, as well as find inspiration for creative problem solving in the One Health field.
The HEAT-AMR team members had an opportunity to share current research projects including:
Dana shared work from her Master’s thesis including a presentation on a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter along the farm-to-fork pathway of broiler chickens. Dana also shared a poster on the novel dose-response model used within her QMRA to predict if a Campylobacter infection may be resistant to ciprofloxacin, as well as the probability of an infection leading to a symptomatic illness.
Funto's presentation titled, Genomic ASSETS for Livestock: Changing the face of antimicrobial use decisions for livestock, a scoping review shared preliminary results from 85 articles included in the review. This scoping review synthesizes information about current laboratory diagnostic testing methods for bovine respiratory disease, and will inform future approaches for rapid diagnosis. Funto’s children attended her presentation - inspiring the next generation of scientists!
Kelsey and Dr. Simon Otto shared linked presentations on BC finfish aquaculture during a session on aquaculture epidemiology. Kelsey first presented on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data. Simon then shared antimicrobial-use (AMU) data based on work from Jake Narbonne’s thesis research, which included a comparison of the BC aquaculture industry to global salmonid producers, as well as an overlay of available AMU and AMR data to examine potential links or trends.
Christine prepared two posters sharing work from their Master’s thesis. The first poster summarized a scoping review on factors associated with antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) Campylobacter infection in humans. Christine’s second poster focused on results from an integrated assessment model of AMR Campylobacter in broiler chickens in Canada. The posters were shared by team members on behalf of Christine.
It was great to catch up as a team. We look forward to the next opportunity!
Wednesday, June 29th, 2022
G20 Indonesia Presentation
Dr. Simon Otto spoke to the G20 Indonesia 2nd technical pre-event for “Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Curbing the Silent AMR Pandemic” that focused on “Surveillance as the backbone for AMR prevention and control.” AMR is a global public and One Health problem that threatens the health of humans, animals, and the environment. Dr. Otto relayed Canada’s experience with and lessons learned from developing national, integrated, One Health surveillance programs for antimicrobial use and resistance that provide evidence for policy and programs to support antimicrobial stewardship. Dr. Otto was one of nine international speakers to over 200 participants from G20 countries, including government and subject matter experts. He emphasized the importance of conducting surveillance across human, animal, and environmental sectors to address AMR and support the health of humans, animals, and the environment.
Read more about his experience here.
Tuesday, June 7th, 2022
Dana Convocates!
Congratulations to Dana Tschritter who convocated today from the University of Alberta, School of Public Health with an MSc in Epidemiology. Dana’s thesis titled, A Canadian farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter spp contributes to the field of public health by providing an estimate of the incidence of ciprofloxacin resistant Campylobacter illness among Canadians, as well as policy options for interventions that may reduce illness. Dana’s thesis was nominated to receive the Dean’s Gold Medal award. Since graduation, Dana has been working as an Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada in the Foodborne Disease and Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Division.
Friday, May 6th, 2022
Congratulations Christine!
The HEAT-AMR team is excited to announce that Christine Neustaedter successfully defended their MSc thesis titled, Antimicrobial Resistant Campylobacter species in the Food Chain: Understanding the Human Risk of Infection. Christine conducted a scoping review to determine risk factors for human exposure to antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter, and developed an integrated assessment model pathway to evaluate the factors impacting the probability of human exposure to AMR Campylobacter from broiler chicken. This work presents the first knowledge synthesis review on this topic, providing important insights about what is known, and guiding where future research is needed. Additionally, the integrated assessment model provides a framework to understand current and future potential for exposure to antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter among Canadians. This work integrates with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Integrated Assessment Model for AMR (iAM.AMR) suite of projects and demonstrates how a One Health approach is central to framing and understanding complex interactions to understand risk of exposure and illness.
Monday, May 2nd, 2022
Welcome to the new HEAT-AMR team members!
We are excited to announce that the HEAT-AMR team is growing! Etienne de Jongh and Rebecca Wassmuth are starting MSc degrees with Dr. Simon Otto working on finfish aquaculture projects. They join us through the intercalated program between the School of Public Health and the University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Markus Gaenzle will complete an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award this summer and will start a MSc degree with Dr. Simon Otto in the fall. Markus will be working on a project funded by the AMR - One Health Consortium looking at waste-water treatment resistance and AMR in ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) from wastewater. We also welcome back Julia Grochowski, who will be returning to support multiple projects as a research assistant over the summer.
Friday, April 29th, 2022
Updated HEAT-AMR logo!
The HEAT-AMR logo is designed to represent the components of, and interactions between, the One Health sectors with which we work - humans, animals, and their environments. This One Health approach and the variety of research methods we use exemplify the transdisciplinarity that guides our work. The logo was recently updated to include fish to represent aquatic environments. This change was inspired by our team’s ongoing work exploring antimicrobial use and resistance in aquaculture as well as AMR in wastewater.
Tuesday, March 15th, 2022
Congratulations Dana!
The HEAT-AMR team is excited to announce that Dana Tschritter successfully defended her MSc thesis, titled A Canadian farm-to-fork quantitative microbial risk assessment of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter spp. Dana created a model to estimate the occurrence of ciprofloxacin-resistant (CIPR) Campylobacter along each step of the farm-to-fork pathway for broiler chickens. The model additionally estimates the incidence of CIPR Campylobacter induced illness among Canadians. Through her work, Dana identified three time points along the farm-to-fork pathway, where interventions could reduce overall incidence of illness. Dana also developed a novel dose-response model that adjusts the infectivity of CIPR Campylobacter compared to susceptible strains. This work highlights the importance of a One Health approach to provide insights and guidance for policy makers. Dana will convocate from the University of Alberta, School of Public Health in June 2022 with an MSc in Epidemiology.
Thursday, February 17th, 2022
New Publication!
Etienne de Jongh, Soumyaditya Ghosh, and Dr. Simon Otto, worked with collaborators at the Climate Change and Global Health Research Lab, and the Climate Health and Environment Epidemiology Research Group on a new review titled, ‘One Health, One Hive: A scoping review of honey bees, climate change, pollutants, and antimicrobial resistance’ published in PLoS One. This scoping review examined literature on the relationships between honey bees and AMR within the context of climate change and environmental pollutants. The work adds to the growing body of literature on honey bee health, a topic has been fuelled by recent legislative changes in North America putting honey bee health under the purview of veterinarians. The importance of using a One Health approach to understand the interconnections of these complex issues is emphasized.
Friday, February 4th, 2022
Honouring Black History Month!
Join the HEAT-AMR team in honouring Black History Month! This month presents an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians to our community, while reflecting on the past to create a more inclusive and equitable future.
Throughout this month, Olufunto Adewusi and her family are creating and sharing videos of Science Master and Violet as they complete experiments! The videos are intended to celebrate and honour the contributions of Black scientists who have made it possible for kids to be inspired and excited with the world of exploration, curiosity and creation.
Check out the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcS19AHLv-E&list=PLGWYCjtz8YbD38WOVcmFFjavlt92IhX_O
Tuesday, February 1st, 2022
New Publication!
Dr. Simon Otto, members of the AMR - One Health Consortium and the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association share insights about supporting progress on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) gathered from the 2021 One Health antimicrobial stewardship conference in a new publication titled, ‘One Health and antimicrobial stewardship: Where to go from here?’ published in the Canadian Veterinary Journal in February 2022.
In March 2021 over 400 attendees from 27 countries and 6 continents, with backgrounds across animal, human, and environmental health, gathered virtually to discuss AMS in Canada. The objectives of the conference included facilitating dialogue across diverse sectors to improve transdisciplinary understanding, identifying areas for collaboration, and growing the evidence base to inform future AMS practices. Anonymous surveys filled out by a subset of participants identified shared responsibility for AMS as a common theme, and barriers for progress included lack of access to information, funding, and resistance to change. The conference presented a meaningful place for cross-sectoral collaboration, and future work can build on the momentum initiated by this gathering.
Citation: McCubbin, K.D., Barkema, H.W., Babujee, A., Forseille, J., Naum, K., Buote, P., Dalton, D., Checkley, S.L., Lehman, K., Morris, T., Smilski, K., Wilkins, W.L., Anholt, R.M., Larose, S., Saxinger, L.M., Blue, D., Otto, S.J.G. (2022). One Health and antimicrobial stewardship: Where to go from here?. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 63(2), 198-200.
Monday, January 31st, 2022
New Publication!
A new publication titled, ‘Integrated surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use: Evaluation of the status in Canada (2014-2019)’ has been co-published by the Canadian Journal of Public Health and the Canadian Veterinary Journal. Co-publication of this article highlights an inter-disciplinary partnership to promote a One Health approach for human and animal health with a focus on antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance to tackle AMR.
This publication presents an evaluation of the integrated, One Health surveillance systems for AMR/AMU in Canada using a novel evaluation tool. Surveillance is a critically important step in understanding and supporting action in this area. The evaluation identified modest progress over the last 6 years with additions to existing core programs. Three critical areas for action are identified which include 1) expand on current success to develop a complete, integrated AMR/AMU surveillance program; 2) update policies at the Federal, Provincial and Territorial levels to require standardized, autonomous AMR/AMU reporting; and 3) invest in AMR/AMU resources including dedicated personnel, funding, and supporting structures.
Citation: Otto, S.J.G., Haworth-Brockman, M., Miaza-Rodriguez, M., Wierzbowski, A., Saxinger, L.M. (2022). Integrated surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use: Evaluation of the status in Canada (2014-2019). Canadian Veterinary Journal, 63(2), 161-170.
Friday, January 21st, 2022
Dr. Otto joins CoEval-AMR Network!
Dr. Simon Otto has joined the CoEval-AMR Network! The CoEval-AMR Network seeks to develop and make available guidance for the evaluation of integrated, One Health AMR/AMU surveillance. This broad, international group is funded by JPIAMR and coordinated by Dr. Cécile Aenishaenslin at the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal. Dr. Aenishaenslin is the director of the One Health Research Lab/Laboratoire de recherche sur Une seule santé. The HEAT-AMR work on integrated, One Health surveillance for AMR/AMU that we completed for the NCCID fits squarely within the CoEval-AMR mandate. Our novel tool to evaluate these surveillance programs will become part of the tools under consideration for the Network in its future work. Dr. Otto is very excited to join this impressive group of experts to inform global One Health surveillance for AMR/AMU.
2021
Monday, November 22nd, 2021
New Webinar!
To celebrate Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021, the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases hosted a webinar where Dr. Simon Otto, and Margaret Haworth-Brockman presented their work evaluating integrated One Health AMR surveillance in Canada. The complete report for the results of this work is available here. To complete this work, they developed a novel evaluation tool, OHE-AMURS (One Health Evaluation of Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Surveillance), which will be used to monitor future progress. Check out the webinar for details on the development of the evaluation tool, results from the evaluation, and areas for continued improvement.
The webinar can be viewed here.
Wednesday, October 20th, 2021
New Publication!
A new review from the AMR - One Health Consortium titled, ‘Knowledge Gaps in the Understanding of Antimicrobial Resistance in Canada’ was recently published in Frontiers in Public Health. This review brings together evidence from literature and expert opinion to outline current knowledge gaps impeding antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevention and control programs in Canada. A One Health approach is used to evaluate three main focus areas: (1) treatment optimization; (2) surveillance of AMU and AMR; and (3) prevention of transmission of AMR. Recommendations highlight the importance of using a One Health framework to address gaps to improve antimicrobial stewardship in Canada.
Monday, September 20th, 2021
Welcome Kelsey!
The HEAT-AMR team is excited to welcome a new project coordinator, Kelsey Robertson. Kelsey completed her MPH degree at the School of Public health in 2019 and is excited to be returning to the University of Alberta in this new role. Kelsey previously studied global development and nursing and brings diverse clinical experience to the group. Kelsey is passionate about antimicrobial stewardship and is excited to be joining the team.
Friday, August 27th, 2021
Congratulation’s Jake!
The HEAT-AMR team is excited to announce that Jacob Narbonne recently defended his MSc thesis titled, Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Indicators: Use and Practicality in Salmonid Aquaculture Settings. Jake will convocate this fall from the University of Alberta, School of Public Health with an MSc in Epidemiology. Jake’s thesis contributes to the field of antimicrobial stewardship and One Health by reviewing antimicrobial use in salmonid aquaculture industries. Jake’s work focused on identifying indicators to track antimicrobial use in the aquaculture industry, and then used these indicators to compare trends over time between top salmonid producing regions. By identifying robust indicators, antimicrobial use can be compared across regions. This work contributes to an evidence base that policy makers can draw upon to support antimicrobial stewardship in the industry. During his degree and to inform his thesis, Jake conducted a literature review on antimicrobial use surveillance indicators for finfish aquaculture production. Check out the article here. Jake is back at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) where he works to complete his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Jake is the first student to complete an MSc (thesis) in this intercalated program between the School of Public Health and the UCVM.
Citation: Narbonne, J. A., Radke, B. R., Price, D., Hanington, P. C., Babujee, A., & Otto, S. J. (2021). Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Indicators for Finfish Aquaculture Production: A Review. Frontiers in veterinary science, 8, 175.
Wednesday, August 4th, 2021
New Publication!
Dr. Simon Otto and Misha Miazga-Rodriguez worked with members at the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID), and the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta on a new publication titled, ‘One Health Evaluation of Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Surveillance: A Novel Tool for Evaluating Integrated, One Health Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Programs’ recently published in Frontiers in Public Health.
This publication outlines the development of our novel tool: One Health Evaluation of Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Surveillance (OHE-AMURS) to review integrated AMR/AMU surveillance programs. We developed this tool in collaboration with the NCCID to evaluate programs at a granular level, using a comprehensive matrix to assess the comprehensiveness and sustainability of AMR/AMU surveillance. This robust tool allows for granular, transparent, and repeatable assessment that can be used in future evaluations to monitor progress towards integrated One Health AMR/AMU surveillance programs in Canada and in other countries.
Wednesday, April 14th, 2021
New Publication!
A new report led by Dr. Simon Otto titled 'Progress on Integrated Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Surveillance in Canada (2014-2019)' has been published on the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease (NCCID) website. This report catalogs antimicrobial resistance (AMR)/antimicrobial use (AMU) surveillance programs currently operating in Canada nationally and provincially, describes the scope of these programs, and evaluates what progress has been made to address the gaps identified in the 2014 NCCID and 2016 CCVO reports to achieve integrated AMR/AMU surveillance in Canada.
Citation: Otto, S. J., Miazga-Rodriguez, M., & Saxinger, L. M. (2021). Progress on Integrated Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Surveillance in Canada (2014-2019) (Rep.). Retrieved https://nccid.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Final_IntegratedAntimicrobialResistance_Feb23.pdf'
Wednesday, March 31st, 2021
New ABVMA Documentary ft. Dr. Simon Otto!
“Antimicrobial Resistance can or will impact all of us. We are moving towards the post antibiotic era, where we can’t necessarily treat these bacterial infections we take for granted. […] We deal with these things in human health as well in animal health. And if we don’t address AMR, we are going to move to a place where we can no longer treat these infections.”
-Dr. Simon Otto Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Alberta/Veterinarian
Dr. Otto was interviewed as part of the 'Raised With Care: Stewards of the Land' documentary that focuses on the importance of stewardship when it comes to antimicrobial resistance including the role that researchers, veterinarians, producers, farmers, and government plays in raising healthy animals in Alberta. Learn more by watching the full documentary @ raisedwithcare.ca
Thursday, March 11th, 2021
New Publication!
A new publication led by Jacob Narbonne titled ‘Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Indicators for Finfish Aquaculture Production: A Review’ has been published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science! This publication collates current literature on AMU surveillance indicators and their application to commercial finfish aquaculture production.
Wednesday, March 10th, 2021
One Health Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference
The OHAMSC was a virtual 3 half-day conference focused on antimicrobial stewardship in animals, humans and the environment with expert presentations, live virtual trainee research abstract presentations, and recorded research abstract presentations. This conference was chaired by Dr. Simon Otto.
The following students presented:
Dana recorded an abstract presentation on her work on an AMR quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) previously presented here at the University of Alberta. This QMRA focuses on the likelihood of acquiring a fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter infection from cooking chicken meat from Canadian grocery stores at home and uses a novel methodology for modeling the dose-response relationship.
Christine recorded an abstract presentation on "'What was in that food?! A scoping review of risk factors for infection with antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter spp." is a continuation of the research they previously presented here at the University of Alberta.
Jacob presented live on antimicrobial use in salmonid aquaculture. Specifically, he discussed measuring antimicrobial use using biomass and length-of-life biomass adjusted indicators which standardize antimicrobial use between producers of different sizes. With future research, these antimicrobial use indicators may be integrated with indicators of antimicrobial resistance to qualify relationships between antimicrobial use and the development of antimicrobial resistance in salmonid aquaculture.
Funto recorded an abstract presentation on the preliminary results of "Application of genomic technology for food animal diagnostics to inform antimicrobial stewardship." Leveraging existing literature on the metagenomic analysis of respiratory samples, this scoping review will synthesize and contribute to the development of rapid diagnostic tools for bovine respiratory disease.
Email heatamr@ualberta.ca to request for full video presentations!
Monday, February 1st, 2021
#ScienceUpFirst
Dr. Otto signs onto #ScienceUpFirst and the COVID-19 Resources Canada network to join the social media movement to stop the spread of misinformation around COVID-19. Go to www.scienceupfirst.com to learn more and sign up to help fight misinformation about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19!
Friday, January 29th, 2021
COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination in Pets
Dr. Otto was interviewed on Breakfast Television Toronto on January 29, 2021 to discuss COVID-19 infection and vaccination in pet dogs and cats. Find out more here: https://www.bttoronto.ca/videos/your-pets-may-need-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccine/.
2020
Monday, December 7th, 2020
CRWAD Presentations!
MSc students, Dana Tschritter and Christine Neustaedter, had abstracts accepted to the 2020 Conference for Research Workers in Animal Disease (CRWAD). The conference looked a little different this year with poster sessions becoming 15 minute pre-recorded presentations with slides and an accompanying presenter icon.
The research Dana virtually presented was on her work on an AMR quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) previously presented here at the University of Alberta. This QMRA focuses on the likelihood of acquiring a fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter infection from cooking chicken meat from Canadian grocery stores at home and uses a novel methodology for modeling the dose-response relationship.
The research Christine presented on "'What was in that food?! A scoping review of risk factors for infection with antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter spp." is a continuation of the research they previously presented here at the University of Alberta. While the scoping review is still ongoing, the presented research at CRWAD2020 was able to highlight emerging themes in the returned articles. Results of the scoping review will be available early 2021.
Friday, October 30th, 2020
New posters at the 6th World One Health Congress from the HEAT-AMR team!
We have trainees presenting posters at the 6th World One Health Congress! Jacob Narbonne (MSc student) presents his poster on antimicrobial use in salmon aquaculture. Etienne de Jongh (undergraduate student) presents his poster on a scoping review of the links between the effect of AMR, climate change and environmental pollution on honey bee health. Misha Miazga-Rodriguez (MPH graduate) presents our review of integrated, One Health AMR/AMU surveillance in Canada with funding from the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Friday, October 30th, 2020
Dr. Otto presents a new review at Public Health 2020!
We led a review of integrated, One Health AMR/AMU surveillance in Canada with funding from the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. See Dr. Otto's presentation of Misha Miazga-Rodriguez's (MPH graduate) abstract at Public Health 2020 for the Canadian Public Health Association.
Thursday, October 29th, 2020
Dr. Otto guest lecture’s in a brand new AMR graduate course!
The AMR One Health Consortium is offering an AMR graduate course that provides various approaches of addressing AMR issues in a wider context that is important and practical for sustainable development of control strategies.
Dr. Otto is providing guest lectures on AMR Risk Analysis and AMR/AMU surveillance for this course in its first offering. The course is online and open to graduate students anywhere in the world!
Wednesday, October 28th, 2020
New One Health workshop series!
Please join the remaining two AMR sessions (Nov 4 and 12) of the One Health Workshop Series, hosted by One Health at UCalgary, Genome Alberta, the University of Alberta School of Public Health, Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, and AMR-One Health Consortium. This is a series of free, virtual webinars open to the public. The two remaining webinars will discuss AMR/AMU surveillance (moderated by Dr. Otto) and the vision for antimicrobial stewardship.