The campaign aims at raising awareness on the irrational use and prescription of antibiotics
As a precursor to the 25th MTNL Perfect Health Mela to be held from October 23 to 27, 2018 at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, the Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), a national NGO working in the healthcare sector, launched a campaign against ‘Antibiotic Resistance’ in association with NCDC and WHO. The Perfect Health Mela is a one-of-its-kind event held every year with a mission to generate all-around awareness on health. In its 25th edition, the event expects participation from over 1, 00,000 individuals from all walks of life.
Dr KK Aggarwal, President, HCFI and Dr Sunil Gupta, Additional Director and Head Division of Microbiology National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); and representatives from the health department, Govt of Delhi, DST, MTNL, MCD, and NDMC were present on the occasion.
Speaking about this, Dr Aggarwal, said, “We, at the Heart Care Foundation of India, are committed to ensuring the larger goal of affordable healthcare for all and the Perfect health mela is a medium to do that. Considering the growing incidence of antibiotic resistance, there is an urgent need to raise awareness on the issue. Antibiotics are different from all other classes of drugs in a very important way: the more a person uses them, the less effective they can become. For a country like India, where over-prescription and misuse of antibiotics is rampant, it is only a matter of time before the resistant bacteria win. Several of these medicines can be obtained without a prescription. What further complicates the problem is inequalities in access to medicine and poor sanitation services. Antibiotics should not be given unless absolutely necessary.”
Each year, an estimated 750,000 people die from antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections, and the death toll will climb unless the global health community acts decisively. It is estimated that by 2050, as many as 10 million people could die annually from AMR complications. This campaign therefore seeks to address this growing concern and focus on strategies to prevent irrational use of antibiotics in the country.
In his message Dr Sujeet K Singh Director NCDC said, “During the last 30 years no new antibiotic molecule has been discovered or invented globally despite research going on in the area. As per the WHO, the most critical group of the resistance species includes multidrug resistant bacteria that pose a threat in hospitals, nursing homes, and among patients whose care requires devices such as ventilators and blood catheters. These are Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and various Enterobacteriaceae (including Klebsiella, E. coli, Serratia, and Proteus). They can cause severe and often deadly infections such as bloodstream infections and pneumonia.”
In its first global report on antibiotic resistance, the WHO has warned that ‘a post-antibiotic era—in which common infections and minor injuries can kill—far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century’.
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