World Antibiotics Awareness Week: '700,000 die globally of antibiotic resistant infections every year'

Health experts while warning the people of avoiding self-medication, especially use of antibiotics, have said that every year globally around 700,000 people die of antibiotic resistant infections.

They said that on the basis of all the estimates, by 2050, the death toll could be a staggering one person every three seconds. While marking World Antibiotics Awareness Week which will continue to November 24, 2019, the leading healthcare experts said that studies depict that antibiotic resistance can kill up to 10 million people each year, which is more than the number of people dying of cancer or other diseases.

One of the leading reasons behind growing antibiotics resistance is the excessive intake of antibiotics.

"Overuse and misuse of antibiotics have helped the bacteria grow stronger and resistant to it. Moreover, fewer new antibiotics are being developed," said Head of Pulmonology, Shifa International Hospital, Dr Aftab Akhtar.

Antibiotics kill or stops the growth of most of the susceptible bacteria in a large bacterial population; however, the resistant bacteria survive and continue to proliferate in the presence of the antibiotic, resulting in a strain of mainly resistant bacteria that can protect themselves against the effect of an antibiotic creating antibiotic resistance and these antibiotic resistant organisms are known as "Superbugs."

"Our antibiotics, once regarded as wonder drugs for treating serious bacterial ailments are facing the challenge of antibiotic resistance in the current times."

Health experts further discussed about how antibiotic resistance can be minimized.

"In order to minimize antibiotic resistance, the patient should always complete the full antibiotic course in any case. Moreover, the patient should never use left-over antibiotics or share their antibiotics with anyone to fight antibiotic resistance," Consultant ENT, Capital Hospital Islamabad Dr Jawwad Ahmad said.

"Rapid diagnostics can also play a role in reducing unnecessary use, slowing AMR and so making existing drugs last longer," he further added.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) has included AMR as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 and there is a critical need to improve global awareness of AMR across the region so that the patients do not demand, and clinicians do not prescribe antibiotics when they are not needed," former Head of Department and Professor of Pediatrics, Rawalpindi Medical University Prof Samiya Naeemullah said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019