09/04/2019 - Health

challenges present in combating AMR in India :

• unrestricted sale of medicines from pharmacies without a prescription from the doctor
• unsensitised doctors about antibiotic resistance, thereby, they end up overprescribing it.
• unaware public – because hospitals and govt. are reluctant to disclose cases for the fear of being singled out as reservoirs

remedial measures to prevent it:

• make people aware
• investment in R&D
• restrict use of antibiotics by doctors
• make doctor prescription mandatory to buy drugs from medical stores

KEY POINTS

·        Many antibiotics are no longer effective in fighting infections as those infections have built up resistance to the medication.

·        Deaths due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could surpass annual cancer fatalities, a situation which the UN has called a “global health emergency.”

·        By 2050, some five million people could die each year in Asia alone due to resistance to antibiotic medicines or antimicrobials, according to World Health Organisation.

Challenges in combating AMR

·        Aggressive prescription by doctors.

·        Frequent use of antibiotic use in farm animals and pesticide use in plants.

·        The unbalanced consumption of antimicrobials continues unchecked despite well-meaning initiatives of various governments, including India’s. 

·        Antimicrobial R&D pipeline ran dry a few decades ago, and interest from drug companies depleting due to heavy investments in R&D and the dynamic trends in AMR.

·        Untreated bio-medical wastes discharged in water bodies. Eg: River Musi in Hyderabad is heavily polluted by bio-medical wates.

Remedial measures

·        Effective implementation of Redline Campaign.

·        India develops National Action Plan to combat Antimicrobial Resistance, which needs be covered comprehensively across the country.

·        The packaging of antibiotics drugs will have mandatory Schedule H1 warning printed on the label in a box with red border and the Rx symbol in red.

·        They can be sold by pharmaceutical chemists only on production of a valid prescription. Government drug inspectors can conduct surprise checks on these registers.

AntiMicrobial resistance(AMR) is a condition when the disease causing microbes develop immunity to the drugs used against them. 

WHO has declared AMR as a global health emergency, as research has found a lot of microbes that have already become resistant like Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Candida Auris, E-coli , etc

        while diseases caused by these microbes top the chart on the global health burden , and already struggling healthcare is constrained in eliminating them, now AMR will only worsen the health burden.

Challenges in India : 

        - As a first line of medication, many Indians use antibiotics without even consulting the doctor, and without even finding the main cause of the illness 

        - Overuse of antibiotics, and not sticking to one full course of medicine will lead to antimicrobial resistance. there is a general tendency among Indians to stop the drug course once they feel recovered

        - Easy availability of antibiotics in dairy sector, indiscriminate use of fungicides in crop growth , also finds the way through human consumption. 

         - Doctors have also started prescribing antibiotics as a drug for all types of illness.

Steps taken in India : 

        -  Red line campaign has been initiated to create awareness among public , to clearly indicate that the drug is antibiotic

        - specific strategy like DOTS strategy for TB patients , to ensure that they follow the schedule of drug delivery 

Way forward : 

        - Easy availability of Antibiotics should be constrained. Prescription may be made compulsory to buy these drugs. 

        - Knowledge gap among laymen about what is AMR, and how it will really impact everyone,  should be spread be addressed

        - Doctors should be advised not to give antibiotics unless tests prove that disease is due to bacteria ,etc

Kindly review thanks