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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : May 3, 2014 12:32 PM IST
Independent online reported a call for action on antibiotic resistance released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday (May 2, 2014).
As per the report published by WHO, every part of the world has reported resistance to antibiotics. WHO's assistant director-general for health security Dr Keiji Fukuda emphasized that the urgent need for a co-ordinated action to stop heading towards a post-antibiotic era where humans could again be susceptible to deadly action of common infectious organisms.
The report is based on data from 114 countries. It focuses on antibiotic resistance to bacteria causing serious diseases such as sepsis, diarrhoea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea. According to the report one South Asian child dies every five minutes due to infection of drug-resistant bacteria, while about 25 000 Europeans die every year from similar infections.
Fukuda said 'Unless we take significant actions to improve efforts to prevent infections and also change how we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics, the world will lose more and more of these global public health goods and the implications will be devastating.' (Read: Complete antibiotic course, prevent superbugs and antibiotic resistance!)
Dr Jennifer Cohn, Medical Director, M decins Sans Fronti res Access Campaign mentioned that the WHO's report is a wake-up call to the governments all around the world to introduce incentives for the development of new, affordable antibiotics that do not rely on patents and high prices and are adapted to the needs of developing countries. (Read: Is taking antibiotics too often bad for your health?)
What is antibiotic resistance?
Microorganisms constantly evolve to efficiently adapt to new environments and antibiotic resistance is one such adaptation. The ability of microorganisms to grow in the presence of an antibiotic that would normally kill them or limit their growth is called antimicrobial resistance. The bacteria which have become resistant cause infections which cannot be treated with the usual drugs, dosages or concentrations. Bacteria which have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics are called multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria ormore commonly, superbugs.
What causes antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance has become a common phenomenon due to their misuse. It could be in the form of indiscriminate self-medication, prescribing incorrect dosage, not following prescribed dosage, failure to complete the course and excessive use of prophylactic (preventive) antibiotics. Another major reason is prescription of antibiotics to treat viral infections such as the common cold. (Read: Antibiotic resistance why it is more dangerous than you think)
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