Post-antibiotic era: Are common infections becoming untreatable?

Antibiotics are one of the biggest protections against the infections. A good and simple course of medicine could easily treat pneumonia and post surgical complications as well. This growing threat is also known as antimicrobial resistance. But in today’s time world is moving very close to some kind of dangerous reality where all these infections are becoming very difficult to treat in some of the areas. This increasing threat is also known as the microbial resistance.

AMR occurs when bacteria, or parasites stops responding to medicine that were earlier effective against them. As the outcome of same, infections normally last longer, medical treatment becomes quite more complicated. According to World Health Organisation, AMR was directly responsible for around 1.27 million deaths and was associated with around 4.95 million globally.

Most recently, WHO global antibiotic resistance surveillance report indicated rising resistance trends across bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, on the basis of data from around 100 countries.

In India, the concern regarding the antimicrobial resistance is quite alarming, as antibiotics are frequently used without any proper medical guidance. Factors which continue to fuel the problem are mainly self medication, easy over the counter availability, inadequate practices of infection control, and delayed diagnostic medical interventions as well. Organisations like Indian Council of Medical Research is now actively monitoring the AMR through its network of surveillance with a focus on the resistant pathogens such as E coli. These organisms are commonly linked with serious conditions mainly including sepsis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and hospitals acquired infections as well.

Dr Sufi Roomi, Medical Spokesperson, Jolly Healthcare said, “The post antibiotic era is no longer a distant type of concern, it is continuously evident in day to day clinical practice. Infections that can be treated easily earlier now demand a strong antibiotics and more precise diagnosis evaluation. Addressing this particular challenge also requires a accurate level of diagnosis, rational use of antibiotic usage, and strong awareness among the healthcare professionals. India should transition from empirical and repetitive use of antibiotic towards the evidence based treatment approaches.

Dr Hemant H R, Senior Consultant and Head-Critical Care Medicine, SPARSH Hospital, Infantry Road, Bangalore, said “Antibiotic resistance directly impacts safety of patients. A resistant infection can easily turn a routine recovery into a prolonged hospital stay, mainly among elderly patients, ICU patients, post-surgical cases and those with existing health conditions. Hospitals should strengthen prevention of infections, hand hygiene, antibiotic, and culture based treatment. At the level of patients, it is equally significant to avoid self-medication and never stop antibiotics midway. Each and every unnecessary antibiotic used today can also reduce treatment options tomorrow.