|
 In a survey of government plans to tackle the issue, the World
Health Organization said only a quarter of the 133 countries that
responded were addressing the problem.
"This is the single greatest challenge in infectious diseases
today," said Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general for
health security. "All types of microbes, including many viruses and
parasites, are becoming resistant."
"This is happening in all parts of the world, so all countries must
do their part to tackle this global threat."
Antimicrobial drugs such as antibiotics and antivirals are used to
treat conditions such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia,
tuberculosis, and HIV.
But superbug infections -- including multi-drug-resistant forms of
TB -- already kill hundreds of thousands of people a year, and the
trend is growing.
Yet according to the WHO, few countries have plans to preserve
antibiotics. Those that do are largely in wealthier regions such as
Europe and North America, where health systems are better organized
and funded and scientific capabilities are more advanced.
"Many more countries must ... step up" with comprehensive strategies
to "prevent the misuse of antibiotics and reduce spread of
antimicrobial resistance", the WHO report said.
Monitoring is key for controlling antibiotic resistance, the WHO
said, but it is currently not effective. In many countries, poor
laboratory capacity, infrastructure and data management are
preventing effective surveillance, making it difficult to discern
patterns of resistance and identify disease trends and outbreaks.
[to top of second column] |
At the same time, non-prescription over-the-counter sales of
antimicrobial drugs are common, increasing the risk for overuse and
abuse by the public and by unscrupulous doctors.
Commenting on the WHO's report, Mike Turner, head of infection and
immunobiology at international health charity The Wellcome Trust,
described drug-resistant infections as "one of the biggest threats
to the future of global health".
"Yet in most areas of the world we have no idea which drugs are
being sold to whom and for what purpose. This is an appalling state
of affairs," he said.
"We cannot hope to stop bacteria becoming resistant to drugs unless
we have simple, basic information in place."
(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
