Minnesota’s One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative Works to Promote Stewardship Year-Round
The vision of Minnesota’s One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative’s (MOHASC) is that Minnesota leaders in human, animal, and environmental health work together to raise awareness and change behaviors to preserve antibiotics and treat infections effectively. MOHASC is made up of four work groups: Animal Health, Human Health, Environmental Health, and One Health Engagement. The groups collaborate with each other to meet the following goals: promote understanding of One Health antibiotic stewardship across disciplines, improve human antibiotic stewardship efforts, improve animal antibiotic stewardship efforts, and minimize the impact of antibiotic use on the environment. Included below are several examples of the MOHASC activities conducted throughout the year to engage both professionals and the public:
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Annual meeting: MOHASC members and other interested individuals meet annually to discuss new and exciting work on antibiotic resistance and stewardship across the One Health continuum and plan for the next year’s activities for engagement in Minnesota.
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Member exchanges: The One Health Engagement Work Group hosts exchanges at a variety of One Health locations for MOHASC members to learn more about antibiotic stewardship outside of their area of expertise.
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State fair booth: Approximately 7,500 Minnesota State Fair visitors engaged with MOHASC’s booth this year and showed their commitment to responsible antibiotic use by signing antibiotic stewardship pledges, voting on impactful antibiotic stewardship actions, and wearing “Superheroes Fight Superbugs” temporary tattoos: MOHASC at the Minnesota State Fair.
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Library display program: MOHASC launched a new library display program this fall! The materials are great for all ages of library patrons, featuring both interactive Q&A materials as well as recommended book and film materials that libraries can choose to feature with the display. Displays have already been sent to 10 libraries across Minnesota!
- If you are interested in having your local Minnesota library display information about antibiotic resistance and stewardship, please have them reach out to us at health.stewardship@state.mn.us.
Sign-up to receive MOHASC news and updates or read past newsletters:
Stay Informed and Contact One Health Antibiotic Stewardship.
 Pictured above is an example of the display in the Farmington Library in Dakota County here in Minnesota! We invite libraries to exercise their creativity to make the MOHASC materials as interactive and attractive as possible for their visitors.
Stay Antibiotics Aware during Respiratory Season
Each year in the U.S., millions of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions are written in doctors’ offices, dental clinics, emergency rooms, and hospitals. During cold and flu season, it can be tempting to insist on an antibiotic from a health care provider to help you feel better, but antibiotics will not work against the common cold, influenza, and other viral illnesses, like COVID-19. Taking antibiotics when they are not needed can do more harm than good by increasing your risk of a bad reaction to a medication or getting an antibiotic-resistant infection later.
Here are some things that everyone can do to help fight antibiotic resistance, especially during cold and flu season:
- Reduce the need for antibiotics by avoiding infections. Wash your hands properly, cover your cough, stay home if you are sick, and stay up to date with recommended vaccinations.
- Do not ask for antibiotics if your health care provider (including your dentist) thinks they are unnecessary.
- When you are prescribed antibiotics, take them exactly as directed and for the full amount of time directed.
- Only take antibiotics prescribed for you; do not share or use leftover antibiotics. Antibiotics treat specific infections. Taking the wrong medicine might make you feel worse and could do more harm than good.
- Work with your veterinarian to prevent and treat illnesses in your pets and farm animals.
- Do not save antibiotics for your or your animal’s next illness. Properly dispose of any leftover medication in one of Minnesota’s 300 collection boxes throughout the state as soon as the prescribed course of treatment is completed: Dispose of Unwanted Medications.
Antibiotics are used across the spectrum of our everyday lives. We must all do our part to preserve these lifesaving medications for generations to come.
Spread the word with these resources!
Caitlin Eccles-Radtke, MD
Infectious Diseases Physician, Hennepin County Medical Center
How does your work involve antibiotic use?
I am an infectious disease physician and it is my job to help both with prescribing antibiotics, as well as helping others discern when antibiotics aren't needed.
How has antibiotic resistance or antibiotic use affected your work?
It affects my work on a daily basis—I work with providers to change prescribing patterns and narrow antibiotics when able in order to decrease use and decrease risk of resistance. For example, we had a patient with a very resistant organism in his urine and he was being seen in the emergency department (ED) and they were worried that it was something that needed treatment right away.
We often have to help providers take a step back to take a closer look at a case. For example, this patient had colonization – bacteria present without causing disease and not a true infection – in his urine which didn't require treatment, and we had to reassure the ED providers that it was OK to withhold antibiotics. I think providers are more fearful of these resistant organisms than the public, as I don't think the public is as informed yet.
What would you like to know more about in regard to antimicrobial resistance and/or antibiotic use?
I’d like to know more about how to educate the public, more about better testing to distinguish between viral/bacterial infections, and more about how antibiotic use in the animal population may be playing a role in human resistance.
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Visit our Stories of Antibiotic Use and Resistance webpage for more on this and other stories.
Webinars & podcasts
CDC International Infection Control Branch Webinar
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 | 6:30-8 a.m. CT
Register: The Race Against Antimicrobial Resistance in Neonates: Insights on Data, Prevention, and Stewardship
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Webinar
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 | noon-1 p.m. CT
Register: Penicillin Allergy De-labeling as a Tool for Inpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Real-World Experience
(open to ASHP members only)
CDC and Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Webinar
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 | 2-3 p.m. CT
Register: Implementation of Priority Core Elements in Critical Access Hospitals
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Clinical Conversations Podcast
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
Listen: Be Antibiotics Aware: Management of Community-acquired Pneumonia in Hospitalized Adults
Go Purple for USAAW
“Go Purple” for the USAAW campaign! This nationwide effort encourages everyone to wear purple and invites organizations, health care facilities, and municipalities to light up buildings and landmarks purple to bring awareness to the role everyone has in combating antimicrobial resistance.
Tomorrow, Nov. 19, look for Minnesota landmarks – including the Lowry Avenue Bridge, I-35W Bridge, Capella Tower, Minneapolis Convention Center, Faribault water tower, and Mayo Clinic’s Plummer Building – to light up purple!
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