WHO is sounding the alarm about antibiotic resistance again

Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to public health

According to the press service of the World Health Organization, the new WHO Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance for the first time addresses the problem of antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotics, at the global level. It shows that this serious danger is no longer just a forecast for the future, since it is already manifesting itself right now in every region of the world and can negatively affect everyone, regardless of age, in every country. Antibiotic resistance is a phenomenon when bacteria change so much that antibiotics no longer have any effect on the body of people who need them to fight infection, and this is now one of the most serious threats to human health.

"Due to the lack of prompt and concerted action by many stakeholders, our world is entering an era when antibiotics are losing their effectiveness, and common infections and minor injuries that could have been cured for many decades can now kill again," says WHO Assistant Director–General for Health Safety Dr. Keiji Fukuda (Keiji Fukuda). – Effective antibiotics were one of the most important elements that allowed us to live longer, be healthier and enjoy the benefits of modern medicine. If we do not take significant measures to improve infection prevention and do not change the methods of manufacturing, prescribing and using antibiotics, our world will increasingly lose these public health achievements, and the consequences of this inaction will be devastating."

The report entitled "Antimicrobial resistance: a global surveillance report" indicates that the element of resistance manifests itself in the case of many very different vectors of infection. At the same time, it pays special attention to antibiotic resistance of 7 different bacteria that cause widespread and serious diseases, such as blood poisoning (sepsis), diarrhea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhea. These results are of great concern, documenting antibiotic resistance, especially to antibiotics prescribed as a "last resort", in all regions of the world.

The main conclusions of the report:

• Resistance to drugs for treatment used as a last resort in the case of life–threatening infections caused by the common intestinal bacteria Klebsiella pneumonia (carbapenema group antibiotics) is spreading in all regions of the world. K. pneumonia is one of the most important causes of hospital infections, such as pneumonia, blood infections, infections among newborns and patients in intensive care units. In some countries, carbapenem antibiotics have no effect due to resistance on more than half of the people who are treated for K.pneumoniae infections.
• Resistance to one of the most widely used antibacterial agents (fluoroquinolones) used to treat urinary tract infections caused by E. coli has also become widespread. In the 1980s, when these drugs were first introduced into practice, resistance was almost zero. Today there are countries in many parts of the world where this treatment is currently ineffective for more than half of patients.
• Cases of the absence of the effect of treatment of gonorrhea with drugs prescribed as a "last resort" (third-generation cephalosporins) have been confirmed in Australia, Austria, Canada, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, France, South Africa, and Japan. More than one million people are infected with gonorrhea every day in our world.
• Antibiotic resistance leads to the fact that people get sick for a longer time, and the probability of death increases. For example, it is estimated that the probability of death of people infected with MRSA (methicillin-resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus) is 64% higher compared to people with a drug-unstable form of infection. Resistance also leads to increased medical care costs as a result of longer hospital stays and suggests the need for more intensive treatment.

Key ways to combat antibiotic resistance

The report notes that key tools to counteract antibiotic resistance, such as basic systems for tracking and controlling this problem, are characterized by certain shortcomings or simply do not exist in many countries. Although some countries have taken important steps to address this problem, nevertheless, every country and every person should do more.

Other important measures include infection prevention at the very beginning – through better hygiene, access to clean water, infection control in health facilities and vaccination to reduce the need for antibiotics. WHO also draws attention to the need to develop new diagnostic tools for antibiotics and other means that would allow public health professionals to be prepared for the emergence of drug resistance.

This report represents an initial stage that should intensify global efforts led by WHO to address the problem of drug resistance. This involves developing appropriate tools and standards and increasing the effectiveness of cooperation around the world in order to track drug resistance, measure its impact on human health and the economy and develop targeted solutions.

What can each of us do?

People can help counteract the development of sustainability by:

• use of antibiotics only when they are prescribed by a doctor;
• full compliance with the prescribed regimen of taking antibiotics, even if the state of health improves;
• preventing the transfer of antibiotics to other persons or the use of remnants of prescribed medicines.

Healthcare professionals and pharmacists can help counteract the development of resistance by:

• strengthening the infection prevention and control system;
• prescribing and dispensing antibiotics only when they are really needed;
• prescribing and dispensing the right antibiotics for the treatment of this disease.

Policy makers can help counteract the development of sustainability by:

• strengthening the sustainability tracking system and laboratory capabilities;
• regulation and promotion of the proper use of medicines.

Policy makers and industry can help counteract the development of sustainability by:

• strengthening innovative work and research and development of new tools;
• expansion of cooperation and exchange of information among all interested parties.

This report, which also includes information on drug resistance for the treatment of other infections such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and influenza, provides the most comprehensive picture of drug resistance to date, taking into account data from 114 countries.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 07.005.2014