Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
Context:
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the risks to global public health that is currently of considerable concern. AMR indicates that a pathogen has stopped responding to a drug, something it had previously done.
- The term antibacterial (ABR) resistance is more commonly used, although the more comprehensive term AMR also includes drug resistance to a variety of infections that result in viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases.
Details:
- AMR is a global issue that affects everyone and transcends political boundaries.
- AMR can affect both animals and plants because both of them experience diseases brought on by infections. AMR also affects people because of improper and irrational pharmaceutical use.
- People can contract AMR from their surroundings, food, and beverages.
The fight against AMR is a significant issue on the global scale:
- Over the past 10 years, the majority of national governments, international organisations (such as the WHO, FAO, and OIE), healthcare communities, civil society organisations, etc. have placed a high focus on the prevention, control, and response to AMR.
- Global Action Plan (GAP) of WHO
- The WHO adopted the global action plan (GAP), which provides a path for combating antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, with the assistance of all of its member countries.
About NAP:
The NAP of India features coordinated initiatives by the:
- government and non-government sectors;
- a thorough strategy (including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, dairy, agribusiness, and the health sector);
- advocacy;
- awareness-building;
- involvement of the community;
- prevention and treatment of infections
- National AMR Surveillance Network (NARS Net);
- research and collaboration on a global scale.
- As India holds the G20 presidency, AMR is a prominent concern on the group’s health agenda.
- The Covid-19 era had a negative impact on the majority of public health efforts, especially those focused at lowering AMR, and schedules got longer. As a result, making major strides is now required to get back on track.
To minimise AMR, a concerted team effort is required:
- Despite the global “One Health” initiative and India’s own goal of inter-ministerial collaboration for AMR prevention and control, the fight against AMR is typically considered as the province of the health sector.
- If other stakeholders, particularly those in charge of the food, drinking water, and environment sectors, don’t accept equal ownership, it will be difficult for India to achieve its AMR goals.
- It is quite concerning that the dairy, poultry, and animal husbandry businesses appear to have uncontrolled access to antibiotics.
- While there is reasonable worry and awareness over the sale of antibiotics without a prescription to humans (and much more action is required in this area), the regulation of antibiotic sales for non-human purposes typically escapes our attention.
- Prompt and effective action is needed in this area. This should not only restrict access but also forbid the improper or excessive use of drugs meant for non-human purposes.
- Another critical issue that must be understood and addressed is the role that the environment plays in the spread of AMR.
- Untreated effluents and wastewater, such as those discharged from medical facilities and antibiotic manufacturing facilities, can contaminate our environment and contribute to the development of AMR.
An effective sanitation, sewage, and waste treatment infrastructure is required to uphold environmental safety and prevent AMR contamination and transmission.
The responsibilities of local organisations and state governments in India’s AMR agenda:
- Therefore, efforts to eradicate AMR cannot be successful without the states’ enthusiastic and engaged involvement. This information has to be widely disseminated around the country.
Why combating AMR requires quick action:
- AMR poses a significant financial burden on both individual families and society as a whole.
- extended morbidity caused by ineffective treatments,
- a greater mortality due to AMR,
- huge loss of potentially productive workdays,
- spending too much money on ineffective treatments,
- Large sick populations, etc., put a significant burden on the nation’s resources.
- By successfully lessening the harm that AMR poses, this can be averted. Therefore, investments in the AMR programme are advantageous from both an economic and health perspective.
In order to combat AMR, action must be taken. To counteract AMR, the following activities can be carried out in tandem:
Prescription comes before prevention:
- Because wellness and illness prevention are so important to public health, preventing infections whenever and whenever you can is akin to avoiding resistance.
- It is vital to lead cleanliness campaigns, make sure that there is clean water available, and support hospital-driven infection-control efforts.
Using digital technology well in India:
- Digital technology has been implemented quite well in India.
- It will be beneficial to use these applications, which were made expressly for the AMR programme. India’s contribution to the G20 partnership may increase as a result.
- Applications include monitoring the flow of prescriptions from the point of manufacture to the final consumer, monitoring the prevalence and incidence of AMR, including variations by state or region, etc.
- To prevent AMR, cautious use of the existing antibiotics is also required, as is the administration of antibiotics only when absolutely essential.
- cooperation between the environmental and animal industries to stop the abuse of antibiotics in farming, which promotes germs resistant to the drugs, and preventing this from happening in our food supply.
- An expanded immunisation schedule: Vaccines are an excellent tool for preventing infections and may be able to halt the spread of AMR illnesses.
- The immunisation programmes are still far from comprehensive and effective for a number of infectious diseases.
Trustworthy surveillance system:
- Prevention is strongly tied to the development of trustworthy monitoring systems that allow us to identify resistant diseases of all sorts in the environment and hospitals and eventually enable containment.
Commercialization of newly discovered antibiotics:
- Warlike parallel efforts are required for the development and commercialization of newer antibiotics and new antimicrobials. Such initiatives deserve recognition.
- Working cooperatively on this issue at the global level will pay off handsomely, making it an obvious choice for bilateral and multilateral agendas.
Utilising social media to effectively spread AMR awareness:
- Social media significantly affects how people think and behave. As a result, these routes can be used to spread the AMR message.
- Promoting a culture of responsible and appropriate antibiotic usage should be the aim. Without community support, public health efforts might not be successful.
