Sunday, January 31, 2021

How COVID-19 Vaccination can help combat AMR

Contributed by: Dr. Nishtha Khatri & Dr. Tamhankar

Several treatment options have been explored to manage the coronavirus disease and at the same time various research projects have been undertaken with an intention to combat COVID-19. As a product of this, we have recently witnessed the  emergence of vaccines effective against SARS-CoV-2. 

 

India is one of the leading countries involved in the large scale manufacture of vaccines to mitigate the effect of COVID-19. Earlier COVISHIELD ( ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine developed by Oxford and manufactured by Serum Institute of India was found to have an acceptable safety profile with efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19.

 

Meanwhile India has  itself also developed a vaccine - a whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2vaccine- COVAXIN (ICMR-Bharat Biotech BBV152 ), found effective against COVID-19. A recent article published in the Lancet describes results of a phase I trial conducted in India to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of COVAXIN, manufactured by Bharat BioTech. The vaccine was seen to enhance the immune responses and had acceptable safety outcomes. 

 

Both of these vaccines have received a restricted approval by the regulatory authority in India. While earlier there was some apprehension about the whole-virion inactivated COVAXIN, now some physicians have said that COVAXIN is preferable as being from whole  inactivated virus it can take care of any mutations occurring like in UK and South Africa. COVAXIN is being said to be effective against mutant strains as well.

 

The treatment of COVID-19 involves use of a multitude of drugs which also includes antibiotics. Hence, with the help of vaccination we can not only curb COVID-19 but at the same time we can tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

 

 

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Antimicrobial Resistance in the COVID-19 Era

Contributed by: Dr. Nishtha Khatri & Dr. Ashok Tamhankar

In the COVID-19 pandemic era, it is time to think about another potential apocalypse: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). As per an editorial published by Prasanth et al. in the journal of ‘Infectious Mircobes and Diseases’, several clinical reports show that 60-70 % of patients had received antibiotics when they contracted COVID-19. The article highlights an increase in the trend of antibiotic usage in the COVID-19 era explaining the reasons for the same. It also throws light upon the potential consequences of AMR and mentions about certain positive initiatives undertaken to combat AMR. For more details about this check the following link : https://journals.lww.com/imd/Fulltext/2020/09000/Will_the_Overuse_of_Antibiotics_During_the.1.aspx. In line with the earlier mentioned article , a perspective article by Lucien at al. in press in ‘International Journal of Infectious Diseases’ too highlights an uptrend in antibiotic usage on account of bacterial superinfection in COVID-19 patients. It also focuses upon the need to conduct studies that could evaluate the worldwide evolution of AMR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Link to this article is as follows: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971221000163

Monday, January 4, 2021

Contributed by:  Dr. Tamhankar


Welcome Dr. Nishtha Khatri

We welcome Dr. Nishtha Khatri, M.B.B.S, M.D. as a Scientific Blogger, Research Associate and Blog Coordinator at IIMAR. Dr. Nishtha Khatri completed her MD in Pharmacology from the very prestigious Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai and is currently an Assistant Professor at Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital. She has good experience in the arena pertaining to Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).  


Dr. Ashok Tamahankar

National Coordinator, IIMAR



Contributed by: Dr. Tamhankar & Dr. Nishtha Khatri

One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)






During the antibiotic awareness week in November 2020 (18-24th  November), the World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and    Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) came forth in unison to launch the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Antimicrobial resistance is a huge threat not only to humans but also to animal, plant and environmental health. Hence, a single sector cannot solve the problem of AMR alone. Taking this into consideration, the launch of One Health Global Leaders Group on AMR is a welcome move to collectively preserve and protect the use of antimicrobial medicines. 


Details about this can be found in the WHO document below: