Global InformationAlliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics information
The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1981 by Stuart B. Levy (1938–2019), Professor of Medicine at Tufts University and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] APUA's mission is to strengthen society's defenses against infectious disease by promoting appropriate access and use to antimicrobial agents (antibiotics, antivirals, antimalarials etc.) and controlling antimicrobial resistance on a worldwide basis. APUA has a network of affiliated chapters in over 50 countries, and conducts applied antimicrobial resistance research, education, capacity building and advocacy at the global and grassroots levels.
Wide-scale misuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials and related resistance to these drugs is challenging infectious disease treatment and health care budgets worldwide. Antimicrobials are uniquely societal drugs because each individual patient use can propagate resistant organisms. APUA provides information to individuals, doctors and policy makers aimed at preserving the power of these agents by preventing infection, reducing drug resistance and increasing the effectiveness of treatment for infectious diseases, including acute bacterial diseases, tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria.
Following Stuart Levy's retirement in 2018, APUA merged with the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ISAC), effective from February 2019. ISAC was founded as a charity in 1961 and, in response to the dynamic nature of the subject matter, has focused most recently on antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial resistance.
- ^ Levy, Stuart (2002). The Antibiotic Paradox. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing. ISBN 0-7382-0440-4.