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
AMR: The silent, parallel pandemic
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a “silent pandemic”, commentators argue, as experts argue for a harmonised approach to mitigate the damage. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed substantially to the AMR crisis, with the prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of those affected by COVID-19 contributing to an increase in AMR cases. This is a […]
Antibiotic abuse is the norm in India
Third and fourth line-antibiotics — used as a last resort in cases where resistance is present to more commonly used medications — are being used indiscriminately within India, claims a paper authored by three researchers of Gurugram-based Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). “Our estimates suggest [a] high proportion of antibiotic prescription for upper respiratory […]
Colistin resistance: AIIMS sounds the alarm
In yet another concerning insight into India’s growing drug resistance epidemic, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has sounded alarms over colistin resistance among patients. The Trauma Centre at the facility has reported that, of 846 people studied who were infected with the Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterium, 22 did not respond to […]
Antimicrobial resistance: Vardhan calls for action
Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise in India, with even resistance to the commonly used antibiotic clarithromycin on the rise. “The resistance to clarithromycin is rising among the Indian patients and that too at quite a fast pace,” said Sunil Sofat, additional director of the Department of Interventional Cardiology at Jaypee Hospital in Noida. “There […]
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 […]