Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Health ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) highly industrialised countries recently recognised antimicrobial resistance was a bigger threat to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) even though fighting it was a shared responsibility.

Concerns associated:

• Nearly 700,000 people die of AMR every year.
• The toll can rise to as many as 10 million by 2050 and eat up 3.8 per cent of annual global gross domestic product (GDP).

Proposed plan by G7

• To establish new international integrated surveillance systems.
• Improve existing systems to monitor AMR and antibiotics use among humans, animals and plants and the effect on the environment.
• Enhance the scientific basis to inform risk assessments and identify opportunities for mitigation.
• To promote prudent and appropriate use of antimicrobials through 2023 by defining national measurable targets on AMR in line with domestic authorities, including antibiotic usage in human health.
• To prepare the upcoming report on infection prevention and control and present it at the World Health Summit in Berlin in October.

What is Antibiotic resistance?

It is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

Why is Antimicrobial resistance a silent threat of the future?

• Antibiotics have saved millions of lives till date. Unfortunately, they are now becoming ineffective as many infectious diseases have ceased to respond to antibiotics.
• Even though antimicrobial resistance is a natural process, the misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process.
• A large number of infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and gonorrhea are becoming very difficult to treat since the antibiotics used for their treatment are becoming less effective.
• Globally, use of antibiotics in animals is expected to increase by 67% by 2030 from 2010 levels. The resistance to antibiotics in germs is a man-made disaster.
• Irresponsible use of antibiotics is rampant in human health, animal health, fisheries, and agriculture.
• Complex surgeries such as organ transplantation and cardiac bypass might become difficult to undertake because of untreatable infectious complications that may result post-surgery.

Measures Taken to Address AMR (India):

• National Programme on AMR containment: Launched in 2012.
• National Action Plan on AMR was launched in April 2017.
• AMR Surveillance and Research Network (AMRSN) was launched in 2013.