Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) : The new pandemic?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an invisible pandemic, and it appears it’s here to stay. Rapidly rising AMR rates need an accelerated, multi sectoral, national as well as a global response.

Public health response all over the world has been threatened due to rising misuse and over use of antibiotics. Microbial resistance to antibiotics has made it a lot more difficult to treat infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, septicaemia and several food borne diseases. AMR also imposes a huge health cost on the patients in the form of long hospitalization, health complications and delayed recovery. Those undergoing complex surgery or chemotherapy are at much greater risk.

In 2019 AMR was responsible for 4.95 million human deaths. It adds to the burden of communicable diseases and strains a country’s healthcare system. An Indian Council of Medical Research study in 2022 showed that resistance levels increase 5% to 10% every year for broad spectrum antimicrobials. Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic used to treat urinary tract infections. WHO says that resistance to it ranged from 8.4% to 92.9% for E. Coli.

Recently, the Muscat Manifesto recognised the need to accelerate political commitments in the implementation of One Health action for controlling the spread of AMR. At the Third Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance held in Muscat, 30 countries adopted the Manifesto. The conference focused on three targets :
• Reduce the amount of antimicrobials used in the agricultural and food sector by at least 30%, by 2030.
• Estimate use in animals and food production of anti microbials that are medically important for human health.
• At least 60% of all AMR for human consumption to be from the WHO “Access” group of antibiotics.

There is an urgent need surveillance and regulatory and policy action to stop the use of antibiotics in animals. There should also be Government investment in research and development of new antibiotics. Vaccines to prevent certain infections should also be considered, with a special emphasis on combating drug resistant Tuberculosis.