Experts in the pharmaceutical industry have raised the red flag over the emergence of antibiotic-resistant diseases as a result of drug abuse.
The abuse threatens last line antibiotics, considered endangered.
“It is becoming clear that across the world antibiotics are being used for treatment of viruses when they only treat bacterial infections or use of the wrong (broader spectrum) antibiotic, thus contributing to the spread of antimicrobial resistance,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in Geneva on Tuesday during the launch of a global campaign to raise awareness on the dangers of antimicrobial resistance.
The report said more than 50 per cent of antibiotics in many countries in the world, including Kenya, are used inappropriately.
Health threat
It urged governments to adopt a tool to help them reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance, adverse events and costs.
The new campaign aims at increasing the proportion of global consumption of antibiotics in the Access group to at least 60 per cent, and to reduce use of the antibiotics most at risk of resistance from the Watch and Reserve groups.
“Using Access antibiotics lowers the risk of resistance because they are ‘narrow-spectrum’ antibiotics (that target a specific microorganism rather than several). They are also less costly because they are available in generic formulations,” says WHO.
Antimicrobial resistance is a global health and development threat that continues to escalate globally, as highlighted in a recent report by the International Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Experts have said that one of the most pressing concerns is the spread of resistant gram-negative bacteria, including Acinetobacter, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
The bacteria, commonly seen in hospitalised patients, cause infections such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound or surgical site infections and meningitis.
When antibiotics stop working effectively, more expensive treatments and hospital admissions are needed, taking a heavy toll on already stretched health budgets. “Tackling antimicrobial resistance requires a careful balance between access and preservation,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant-Director General for antimicrobial resistance.
Used sparingly
At the same time, many low and middle-income countries experience vast gaps in access to effective and appropriate antibiotics. Childhood deaths due to pneumonia (estimated globally at close to one million per year) because of lack of access to antibiotics in many parts of the world.
And although over 100 countries have national plans to tackle antimicrobial resistance, only about one fifth of those plans are funded and implemented.
WHO Essential Medicines List developed the The AWaRe tool to contain rising resistance and make antibiotic use safer and more effective.
It classifies antibiotics into three groups – Access, Watch and Reserve – and specifies which antibiotics to use for the most common and serious infections, which ones should be available at all times in the healthcare system, and those that must be used sparingly or used only as a last resort.
“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent health risks of our time,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
-Mediamax
