Data explosion threatens Catch 22 for pathogen research
20 Nov 2022
Science’s efforts to tackle the challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is being hampered by the massive increase in the very information designed to help them in their efforts, warns a leading expert.
Thibault Géoui, Senior Director of Discovery Biology and Predictive Risk Management at Elsevier referenced the huge growth in the number of papers published on the World Health Organisation’s so-called ‘priority pathogens’.
Since the list was released in 2017 by the WHO, the number of works has increased by nearly a quarter of a million.
Data from Elsevier’s Scopus abstract and citation database revealed a total of 227,808 papers have been published to date on the 12 priority pathogens.
But the influx of new information has created a paradoxical problem for scientists hoping to harness it for the benefit of their own studies, explained Géoui.
“AMR is an urgent threat to public health. It’s encouraging that the WHO’s list has achieved its goal of ramping up research efforts for these threats, but scientists could now face the barrier of too much data to make it actionable,” he stated.
The last novel antibiotic class to reach the market stage was discovered as long ago as 1987, so it is hoped that the data increases recorded will offer the means to further breakthoughs.
To efficiently access the new knowledge now being published, new approaches are essential to ensure that scientists can usefully apply this. In order to make use of research and avoid duplication, as well as speed drug discovery, the new data needed to be discoverable and accessible, Géoui cautioned.
“We’ve seen how technologies like AI and machine learning have contributed to considerable breakthroughs during the Covid-19 pandemic. To make the same great strides tackling AMR, we must arm researchers with the tools to better manage data and accelerate the discovery of new antimicrobials,” continued Géoui.
Elsevier’s Scopus data analysis was g highlighted as part of Antimicrobial Awareness Week. It reveals the greatest increase in papers was recorded for Acinetobacter baumannii (carbapenem-resistant), the WHO’s most critical pathogen. Some 2,450 papers were published in 2021, compared to 1,348 in 2017 – a total of 11,175 across the five year period.
Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-resistant, vancomycin-intermediate and resistant) was the subject of the most documents published in total with 83,165 since 2017 but saw a slower rate of increase; there were 11,158 publications in 2017 and 17,097 in 2021.
Elsewhere the report reveals that the USA retains its dominance in the quantity of research in this area and lies in first or second place in all 12 priority pathogens. Its closest competitor, China consistently appears in the top three for all 12 categories.
Meanwhile, France, India, Iran, Italy, and UK also lead in the three pathogens listed as ‘critical’: Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacteriaceae.
Other bacteria recording notable increases in papers published are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecium and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Pic: Ivan Samkov
