AMR a huge public health concern

A recent study conducted by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has found that almost all clinically important and widely used antibiotics have lost their effectiveness by more than 50 percent. This is a distressing piece of information that should cause us all a great deal of concern. The IEDCR studied the performance of 21 antibiotics against 10 priority pathogens between 2017 and 2021, and found that five of the most critical medicines listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) are progressively becoming ineffective, leaving us almost defenceless in the face of certain illnesses, including future pandemics.

This increasing ineffectiveness of antibiotics, known widely as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), has been declared by the WHO as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. One does not have to think too far ahead to consider the severity of the consequences of being unable to treat previously treatable bacteria, viruses and parasites. This will not only impact human health, potentially causing greater suffering and even death; prolonged illnesses as a result of less effective treatment will also increase the financial burden on patients from longer hospital stays, frequent consultations and expensive medicines. This will inevitably create greater stress on the healthcare system as a whole, and will ultimately cost the economy as well.

The WHO identified misuse and overuse of antimicrobials to be the main drivers in the development of such drug resistance. In Bangladesh, experts have also reached the same conclusions—according to a report in this daily, the data indicates that the overuse of antibiotics is driven by practitioners. In this regard, there is no alternative but for the authorities to put forward strict guidelines on antibiotic use, and closely monitor that these guidelines are being followed. A strong movement among health professionals is also required to discourage the overuse of antibiotics—not just in major public and private hospitals, but in every healthcare centre and private clinic across the country. 

In many countries, the overuse of antibiotics in food production is a major concern as well. We urge the authorities to look into this issue, too, and ensure that Bangladeshis are not consuming meat from animals that have been stuffed with antibiotics. The world is now beginning to recognise that human health is closely connected to the health of animals and the shared environment—as the Covid-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates—and that the war against AMR needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Armed with this information, we must also take up this battle against AMR, and formulate coherent strategies to ensure that it does not have severe negative consequences for the country and its people.