Global coordinated action plan against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) needed by 2015 - WHO

Contributed by: Dr. Akilesh Ramasamy& Dr. Tamhankar

“We must act urgently. The world is heading for a post-antibiotic era which will be devastating in this age of emerging infectious diseases. If we do not use antibiotics rationally, we will lose the power to fight common infections and minor injuries. We need to step up efforts to prevent antimicrobial resistance and change how we prescribe and use antibiotics,” - Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. (Source: WHO)

The World Health Organization called upon Member States of the South-East Asia Region to scale up national action plans to combat this daunting public health threat at a four-day regional meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Jaipur. WHO has prioritized antimicrobial resistance issues due to its vast health, political and economic implications.

Antibiotic Crisis Management: Lessons from energy crisis can teach us a thing or two

Compiled by: Dr. Akilesh & Dr. Tamhankar

Lessons learnt from other fields applied to antibiotic resistance.- Ramanan Laxminarayan, a noted Economist at TedMed

"It has been a long time since people died of untreatable bacterial infections and the prospect of returning to that world is worrying." - Ramanan Laxminarayan

Antibiotic Awareness Week - India. 15th to 22nd November, 2014

Contributed by: Dr. Akilesh & Dr. Tamhankar 

ITS TIME TO AWAKE, BE THE CHANGE

AWAKE (Awareness Week on Antibiotic Knowledge and Education) is an initiative of EARS, a non profit, non Govt organization to create week long awarness compaign (15th to 22rd November, 2014) in India.


The objective of this endeavour is:

• Educating public and healthcare providers about rational use of antibiotics
• Spreading awareness about the rising antimicrobial resistance
• Promoting hygiene and sanitation as a step towards stopping spread of resistance

What can you do ?

• If you are a healthcare provider, take a pledge that you would not prescribe antibiotics irrationally. You can organize seminars / talks / send SMS / Emails to your colleagues and peers to avoid antibiotic abuse.
• If you are a patient / caregiver / non-medico you can take a pledge that you would NOT permit self-prescriptions of antibiotics. Also patient / caregivers should make it a point to discuss with your healthcare provider whenever being prescribed antibiotics. 

Artemisinin resistant Malaria at India's threshold! ‘Don`t get Malaria !’

Contributed by Akilesh Ramasamy in association with A.J. Tamhankar

Chloroquine resistance is wide spread in certain pockets of India. Artemisinin is the most effective anti-malarial drug to date against the deadly Plasmodium falciparum malarial parasite. The spread of Artemisinin resistant malaria is rampant in South East Asian countries. British researchers have found these strains of malarial parasite at the borders of Myanmar as well. It may not be long before India falls prey to these resistant strains. 

The only way to survive malaria would then be to ‘not get malaria!’

Search for newer antibiotics – Crawling back to Mother Nature's Laps!

Contributed by Akilesh Ramasamy in association with A.J. Tamhankar

“Antibiotic resistance is not a threat looming over the horizon. It's here, right now ....”

- Margaret Chan, Director Genreral, WHO

In South Africa, tuberculosis resistant to all known antitubercular agents is prevalent. Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR) cases of tuberculosis is not unknown in India. Even doctors have succumbed to MDR-TB, the death of an intern from Sion Hospital due to MDR-TB in 2013 is a case in point. (News Source: TOI, 1 July, 2013) Residents, interns, nurses and even dentists of civic hospitals have been known to be victims of tuberculosis with some of them developing MDR-TB. (News Source: Mid-Day 31 Dec. 2013 )