Antimicrobial Resistance – Overused antibiotics no longer work for ‘sizeable’ Indian population

Source: This post on Antimicrobial Resistance is based on the article “Overused antibiotics no longer work for ‘sizeable’ Indian population” published in “Live Mint” on 12 January 2024.

Why in news?

Recently, it was found that antibiotics routinely prescribed to treat common ailments no longer work for the ‘sizeable’ Indian population.

What is antimicrobial resistance?

1) Antimicrobials including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitic are medicines used to prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants.

2) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines.

3) AMR is a natural process that happens over time through genetic changes in pathogens.

3) Its emergence and spread are accelerated by human activity, mainly the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials to treat, prevent or control infections in humans, animals and plants.

4) For example, medicines like azithromycin have been overly consumed during COVID-19, which has not only harmed the cell in body but also made pathogen non-respondent to the drug.

5) Even Colistin, also known as polymyxin E which is often seen as a last resort treatment for multidrug-resistant infections, including pneumonia, is not longer effective.

6) The World Health Organization recognizes AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats, saying bacterial AMR killed 1.27 million globally in 2019.

7) Priorities to address AMR in human health include preventing all infections, which may result in inappropriate use of antimicrobial; ensuring universal access to quality diagnosis and appropriate treatment of infections; and strategic information and innovation.

UPSC Syllabus: Science and technology