“Other Pandemics”: Globally Expanding Antibiotic Resistance

January 22, 2022-even before COVID-19 Pandemic, We were all there. You wake up in a poor mood-headache, itching in the throat, cough -And you find the energy to go see your doctor. What you really want is verification-yes, something is happening-and the prescription that knocks out the illness from you in a day or two is top.

Second, doctors use the word “V”.They will tell you what is rapid Streptococcus The test returned negative, so you may be infected with a virus. Instead of powerful antibiotics, the body needs rest, water, and time to fight the infection.

You’re discouraged and go home-why couldn’t I get antibiotics just in case? What is the harm?

In 2019 alone, more than 1.2 million people have died worldwide. This is a significant estimate in the largest study to date that has examined the increasing public health challenges of antibiotic-resistant strains.

Researchers at UCLA, the University of Washington, and other major institutions have collaborated on ambitious studies to determine the number of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) deaths worldwide.

Millions of lives already lost

Experts have studied antibacterial resistance in 204 countries and territories around the world and estimated that they were able to prevent 1.27 million deaths in 2019.

If these resistant infections were changed without infection, more deaths could have been prevented that year. According to a survey, about 5 million people around the world may still be alive.

Based on the figures in this study, AMR is now the leading cause of death in the world.For example, antibacterial resistance killed more people either HIV also malaria In 2019.

Sub-Saharan Africa in the west had the highest mortality rate in the study. In contrast, areas including Australia and New Zealand had the lowest deaths.

Fighting resistance does the job

In a study of the deaths of millions, it was not all fate and darkness. Experts have suggested five strategies that could improve the situation.

For example, it requires ongoing efforts on the part of the doctor to avoid prescribing unnecessary antibiotics. Agricultural companies need to minimize the use of antibiotics in chicken, beef and other livestock. Pharmaceutical companies need something worth the time and effort to develop new drugs.

Governments and private organizations also need to increase funding for research on new antibiotics and another word “V”. vaccinationKevin Ikuta, a researcher who is a doctor of medicine and an assistant to health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, said.

Only one of the six most worrisome bacteria- Streptococcus pneumoniae -There are vaccines available to prevent infection in the first place.

More vaccines are under development, but so far people remain vulnerable to the other five main causes. E. coli,Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, When Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Studies have shown that each of these bacteria It causes more than 250,000 AMR-related deaths.

Do you prefer to narrow your anxiety to the most threatening antibiotic and resistant pair of 88 combinations researched by researchers?They identified methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus ((((MRSA) As the most causing AMR deaths-more than 100,000 deaths in 2019 alone.

How is COVID-19 understood?

and editorial of Lancet, announced at the same time as the research, Dr. Ramanan Laxmina Layan called antimicrobial resistance a “pandemic that is overlooked.”

“As COVID-19 rampages, antimicrobial-resistant pandemics continue in the shadows. The damage that AMR does to patients and their families is barely visible, but it extends hospital stays and causes unnecessary death. It is reflected in the long-term bacterial infection that causes the disease, “writes Laxminarayan. , An economist and epidemiologist with a Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership in Geneva, Switzerland.

There is a direct relationship between COVID-19 and AMR, Vance Fowler, MD, said when asked to comment on the study. For example, long-term hospitalization of a person infected with COVID-19 increases the likelihood of developing a resistant bacterial infection.

Experts call these “super-infectious diseases.”

Lancet “We are likely to pay more attention to AMR, especially as many people are distracted by COVID,” said Fowler, a professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. “The world is full of COVID.” In Durham, North Carolina.

Deaths associated with AMR indicate that there is still work to be done on infection control and prevention, he said. Tracking hotspots around the world will help you manage your resources better.

Asked if there was any hope or optimism at this point, Ikuta said, “Sure. I know what to do to counter the spread of resistance. COVID-19 is an infection control measure. It demonstrates the importance of a global commitment to antibacterial resistance, all of which can be applied to antibacterial resistance as a rapid investment in hand washing and monitoring, and treatment. “