Reagents have been developed in Russia to quickly detect antibiotic resistance in critically ill patients

In Russia, reagent kits have been developed that allow to detect antibiotic resistance directly in the biological material of patients, which significantly reduces the study time. This was reported in Rospotrebnadzor.

When a patient develops septic shock, doctors have almost no time to select the appropriate drug. Each hour of delay in prescribing effective antibacterial therapy reduces patient survival by 7.6%. "Thus, reducing research time is a vital factor," the agency emphasized.

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week is now underway. Antibiotic resistance is becoming one of the factors lowering the effectiveness of treatment in patients who need to be treated with antibacterial drugs. The Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor conducts extensive scientific and practical work, studying the factors of antibiotic resistance spread and the possibilities of counteraction.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about unjustified, unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics, for example, in the treatment of viral infections. Self-medication is also widespread in Russia - despite bans, antibiotics can still be purchased in pharmacies without a prescription.

But no less weighty factor is the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, their content in meat and milk.

Since 2018, a center for monitoring the residual amount of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance of bacteria in food raw materials and food products has been working on the basis of the Institute.

Another area of work - in the center "Biosafety and New Technologies" on the basis of the same Institute, scientists identify drug resistance mutations, determine the sensitivity of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs.

Scientists are a constant reminder: knowledge of antibiotic resistance must be increased and steps must be taken to reduce the unnecessary use of antibacterial drugs at all levels.