UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — University Health Services, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, joins the Pennsylvania Department of Health to offer the One Health Seminar focused on antibiotic stewardship in Pennsylvania. The seminar will be held on Nov. 15 in Schwab Auditorium. Registration begins at 7:45 a.m. and presentations begin at 8:15 a.m. The seminar is open to the public.
The seminar, part of Get Smart Week, will cover topics, such as recent trends in the emergence of antimicrobial resistant infections, mechanisms that increase antibiotic resistance, prescribing patterns and how they influence antibiotic resistance, and strategies to slow the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections and improve infection control.
Antibiotic resistance poses one of the most pressing public health threats according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Antibiotic use is the single most important contributing factor to antibiotic resistance and up to one-third to one-half of antibiotic use in humans is either unnecessary or inappropriate.
To raise awareness about the threat of antibiotic resistance, the CDC along with national and international partners observe Get Smart Week each year. Nov. 14-20 will mark the ninth annual Get Smart About Antibiotics Week.
Seminar speakers include David Wolfgang, VMD, MPH, DABVP-Dairy, Pennsylvania State Veterinarian; Andrew Read, Ph.D. and Robin Oliver, M.D. from Penn State; and Marian Michaels, M.D., MPH from the University of Pittsburgh.