As many of us continue our fieldwork in AMIS, we are delighted to see the research and publication database building as people craft their analyses of AMR from a rich and varied social science perspective. Just over the past month there have been considerable accomplishments, including an AMR and social science methodologies workshop hosted at Imperial College; a new report from the WHO on AMR and cultural contexts (including a webinar of the report); a review of the fantastic Surgeon X in the Journal of History of Biology; and the launch of a new interdisciplinary network, BEYOND RESISTANCE , based at the University of Edinburgh.

There are an additional two new articles out in the Anti-Biosis - Social and Cultural Inquiries into Human-Microbe Relations Special Issue this month as well. One from Sue Walker, entitled Effective antimicrobial resistance communication: the role of information design, and another by Nutcha Charoenboon, Marco J. Haenssgen, Penporn Warapikuptanun, Thipphaphone Xayavong & Yuzana Khine Zaw, entitled Translating antimicrobial resistance: a case study of context and consequences of antibiotic-related communication in three northern Thai villages.

One of our AMIS mentors, Nik Brown, has newly launched a website for his project, ‘Pathways, Practices and Architectures’, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project is “exploring antimicrobial resistance and how cross infection is managed in cystic fibrosis clinics, using qualitative methods, including creative visual approaches. It is a multidisciplinary project involving sociologists of medicine and science, an academic architect, micro-biologists and a graphic artist. The research compares the way three outpatient lung infection clinics attempt to control AMR and cross-infection through the design, practices and architectural layout of their built environments.”  

Later this month, many of us will be coming together in London for an ESRC-funded workshop, organised by Claas Kirchelle, on "Problems & Principles - multidisciplinary hallmarks for addressing global AMR". This is an opportunity to critically reflect on the AMR policy landscape and what form our contribution to policy – as historians, anthropologists, geographers – should take.

Finally, we’d like to direct your attention to a new commentary piece on our website by Nicolas Fortane, entitled ‘Understanding AMU in livestock through the structure of the veterinary drug market: Reflections from the French case'. In it, Nicolas outlines how the French system of industrial livestock farming has developed in line with an ever increasing dependency on antibiotics, which he argues is based on an economic model of veterinary services linked to antibiotic sales.

Thanks for reading!

Laurie and Clare