The study, conducted by Delhi-based research organization CDDEP, says India’s per capita consumption of antibiotics has increased by more than 40 percent in the last decade
In worrying signs for Indians battling failure of treatments,a study has shown that India has the highest rate of antibiotic resistance,with resistance to some medicines touching almost 50 percent.India was also the largest consumer of antibiotics,followed by China and the US, from 2000 till 2010.
The study, conducted by Delhi-based research organization Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP),says India’s per capita consumption of antibiotics has increased by more than 40 percent in the last decade.
Titled ‘The State of the World’s Antibiotics 2015’, the study analysed data from across the world.Forty-eight percent of bacterium staphylococcus aureus,responsible for skin and respiratory tract infections, has become resistant to antibiotic methicillin,the study notes.
The demand for antibiotics continues to rise, particularly to treat children with blood infection and pneumonia. The report revealed that between 2000 and 2010, total global antibiotic consumption grew by more than 30 percent. Per capita consumption is generally high in high-income countries. But the greatest increase in antibiotic use during the period was in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
In most countries, about 20 percent of antibiotics are used in hospitals. The rest 80 percent are either prescribed by healthcare providers or purchased directly by consumers.
“This over-the-counter sale, even of high dosage of antibiotics, is the biggest threat,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of CDDEP and lead author of the study.
The most dangerous and difficult-to-treat infections are reported in hospitals, the study says, especially because of heavy use of antibiotics, immune-compromised and elderly patients, and overcrowding.
“Now that we have the data and the trends, people should start to come up with ideas to contain antibiotic resistance,” said N K Ganguly, a leading microbiologist and former head of Indian Council of Medical Research.
Experts warn that without effective medicines,infections such as hospital-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonias,urinary tract infections and diarrhoea are becoming difficult to treat.
Cautioning against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and other drugs which leads to resistance to medicines and treatment failure,the World Health Organization has urged member countries in Southeast Asia to address this public health threat urgently.
The report revealed that between 2000 and 2010, total global antibiotic consumption grew by more than 30 percent. Per capita consumption is generally high in high-income countries. But the greatest increase in antibiotic use during the period was in low and middle-income countries (LMICs)
“Immediate action is needed to stop the world from heading towards pre-antibiotic era in which all achievements made in prevention and control of communicable diseases will be reversed. Common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades may once again kill millions. Resistance to antibiotics will make complex surgeries and management of several chronic illnesses like cancer, extremely difficult,” Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO Southeast Asia Region, said at a regional meeting in Dili,the capital of Timor-Leste.
Without effective antimicrobial medicines, a number of common infections such as hospital-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonias,urinary tract infections, diarrhoea, gonorrhoea,tuberculosis and malaria are becoming harder to treat, she added. Khetrapal Singh was addressing health ministers and senior health ministry officials from 11 member countries of WHO Southeast Asia Region, at the sixty-eighth annual meeting of the Regional Committee.
Cautioning against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and other drugs which leads to resistance to medicines and treatment failure,the World Health Organization has urged member countries in Southeast Asia to address this public health threat urgently
According to estimates released by the British government in December 2014,antibiotic resistance will be responsible for 10 million deaths annually by 2050. It is economic cost will result in a 2 to 3.5 percent decrease in global gross domestic product by the same year, if antimicrobial resistance goes unchecked. Reduced productivity from persisting illness, and its cost of treatment,will add to the economic loss.
Khetrapal Singh said comprehensive and integrated national action plans are needed to respond to antimicrobial resistance. Countries need to strengthen monitoring of the extent and cause of antibiotic resistance, improve infection control in hospitals and regulate and promote appropriate use of medicines.
She urged that WHO Southeast Asia regional strategy, the Jaipur Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance, 2011,and the recent Global Action Plan need to be implemented in totality, keeping in mind national priorities and context.
Antibiotic resistance is growing due to injudicious use of antibiotics by prescribers,patients not completing full treatment courses, overuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming, poor control of infections in healthcare settings and poor hygiene.There are only a few new antibiotics available to replace the resistant and ineffective ones.
By Jyotsna Singh
