Every year, the world observes World TB Day on March 24 to raise awareness of the continued tuberculosis epidemic, especially in the developing world, and efforts to fight it. March 24 is the date in 1882 when mycobacterium tuberculosis – the pathogenic bacteria which causes the disease – was discovered the Nobel Prize winning scientist […]
antibiotics
Colistin ban in food sector over drug resistance concerns
India’s food production sector has been banned from using the antibiotic colistin, over concerns about its misuse potentially fuelling drug resistance. According to a 2009 study, “colistin is…being used increasingly as a ‘last-line’ therapy to treat infections caused by [multi-drug-resistant] Gram-negative bacteria, when essentially no other options are available.” Yet concerns are growing that, in […]
Surgeon’s gowns and the spread of C. diff
The reality of hospital-acquired infections is one that is difficult to ignore. New research has spotlighted one particular infection to which hospital visits can expose people. This time, alarm bells are being sounded about Clostridium difficile (also known as C. diff), a bacterium linked to stomach ailments such as diarrhoeal disease and colitis which can […]
Antibiotic resistance: Public awareness campaigns might not work
By Marco Haenssgen, University of Warwick Pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa, are becoming ever more resistant to drugs. People speed up this natural process by over-using antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs in medicine and agriculture, and by leaking them into the environment. The World Health Organisation (WHO) regards antimicrobial resistance as one of […]
Poultry farms breeding an antibiotic resistance crisis
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing Indian public health – and poultry farms are serving as a breeding ground for the crisis. “This news is not altogether surprising, though this does not make it any less concerning. Research has uncovered numerous instances of poultry farms breeding antibiotic resistance” A recent study of […]
What else we’re reading: Antibiotics: why asking doctors to prescribe fewer is futile
By Andrew M Colman, University of Leicester This article was originally published by The Conversation ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ An 85-year-old woman with dementia is admitted to hospital with worsening confusion, new urinary incontinence and constipation. These symptoms suggest a urinary tract infection, but the doctor treating her has a dilemma because the symptoms also suggest her dementia […]
#HealthForAll: Why India lacks access to healthcare
Here is another example of the crumbling state of India’s healthcare infrastructure and the reason behind lack of access to essential, life-saving drugs. India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and two million nurses, claims a study conducted by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), titled “Access Barriers to Antibiotics.” […]
Cefiderocol: The latest miracle drug?
Recent reports have surfaced of a new “super antibiotic” being developed by Japanese pharma company Shionogi. The term super antibiotic is problematic. At best, it could simply be wishful thinking. At worst, it could be a dangerous exaggeration in a world where antibiotic resistance is a looming threat to public health. Is appropriate language being […]
Poultry farms: Adding to the drug resistance epidemic?
Are India’s poultry farms worsening the antibiotic resistance crisis in India? In the expert opinion of Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington DC and New Delhi, this is certainly the case. According to Laxminarayan, the majority of the poultry feed used in India is medicated with antibiotics, used […]
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis to spike in India
Multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is to spike in India over the next twenty years, predicts a recent study published in The Lancet. The news puts the World Health Organization’s End TB strategy at risk of failure. It also jeopardises the pledge of the Indian government to end TB in the country by 2025. Unless […]