United Arab Emirates: Why the threat of antimicrobial resistance is real
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Dubai: Are you one of those who prefers to go the antibiotic route when you have a viral flu? Do you find yourself justifying it by saying it’s better this way?
Well, as nearly 600 doctors and healthcare experts heard at a conference in Dubai, it may not be the right choice.
Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the Seventh UAE International Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (ICAMR), organized by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, conference president and internal medicine specialist Dr Najiba Abdul Razzaq said the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) around the world is real.
“AMR is the ability of microbes, whether bacteria, viruses, fungi or prozoa, to survive despite the presence of antimicrobial drugs designed to eliminate them. Consequently, these antimicrobial drugs will no longer be effective and infections in humans will become difficult or impossible to treat,” he stated.
He explained that although antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon, what is worrying is the speed of the “development of resistance.”
Antimicrobial resistance explained.
Image Credit: Vijith Pullikal/Gulf News
“Its spread is accelerated by the inappropriate and excessive use of antimicrobials in the human, animal and plant environment, such as antibiotics, for example, if an antibiotic is prescribed for a viral infection even though it is not effective. Furthermore, the limited development pipeline of new antibiotics compounds the challenge of addressing resistance,” he noted.
Silent pandemic
The conference examined the global impact of antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) on both public health and the global economy. “It presented potential remedies to combat the silent pandemic of AMR and HAI, incorporating the latest treatment protocols, technological advances, innovative strategies, vaccination initiatives and antimicrobial stewardship programs,” Dr. Razzaq said.
Additionally, the conference also discussed alternative approaches to antimicrobial therapy. “An aspect worth mentioning is the exploration of behavioral sciences and strategies to influence human behavior, promoting better outcomes in the context of antimicrobial resistance and HAIs,” said the specialist.
He also discussed the UAE’s national action plan that is aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) strategies to combat AMR, with a specific emphasis on research. He highlighted the need to shed more light on best practices to improve the utilization of antimicrobial drugs through rapid diagnostics and improved surveillance, in addition to adequate infection control in critical areas and in the hospital environment.
What the WHO says
The WHO includes antimicrobial resistance among the top 10 threats to global health. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the effectiveness of ADRs, which include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics, is now at risk because several ADR treatments that once worked no longer do so because Microorganisms have become resistant to them. .
Microorganisms that develop resistance to commonly used antimicrobials are called superbacteria.
According to the WHO, bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths in 2019 worldwide. By 2050, this number is expected to increase to 10 million a year.
Antimicrobial resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, malaria parasites, viruses and HIV is becoming a reality that could increase human suffering. It could also deal a severe blow to the global economy, due to productivity losses, rising health costs and rising poverty, international organizations have warned.
Earlier this month, WHO published a list of medically important antimicrobials (MIAs) for human medicine (WHO MIA List) as a risk management tool that can be used to support decision-making to minimize the impact of use of antimicrobials in non-human animals. sectors on antimicrobial resistance in humans. The list is a guide for international antimicrobial stewardship efforts and complements the WHO AWaRe (Access, Surveillance, Reserve) antibiotic framework and book, which provides guidance on the appropriate use of essential antibiotics.
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