VI warned of ‘Antimicrobial Resistance’ that can arise from medication misuse
The warning came from the Ministry of Health and Social Development through Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Mrs Gracia Wheatley Smith who said the ministry is observing AMR week and emphasis will be placed on what happens when bacteria, parasites, fungi, and viruses stop being impacted by the medicines people take.
“Our antibiotics [the medicines that we take for bacterial infections] our anti parasites [the medicines we take to treat parasites], antifungals [the medicines that we take to treat fungal infections] and antivirals [the medicines that we take to treat infections caused by viruses] become ineffective. This according to Mrs Smith results from the misuse, inappropriate use and un-directed use of medication.”
She said when the antibiotic or antiviral is used incorrectly for the right duration of time, the bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites adapt to the environment of low dose of treatment, an environment where the organism is not affected by the medicine and as a result, they no longer respond to medicines.
Incorrect medication use can result drug-resistant bacteria
This she said makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.
She said, if the impact of AMR is not reduced, life will return to a point where there were no antimicrobials which will result in interventions such as open-heart surgeries and hip replacement becoming more difficult to perform without the prevention of infections.
She said other extremes will include pre-mature babies dying because treating infections will be difficult if they develop an AMR infection. Persons whose immunes are compromised, such as HIV and cancer patients will also be more susceptible to infections and will die if they cannot be treated because of the resistance.
AMR week is being observed under the theme “Spread Awareness and Stop Resistance”, and Persons can do their part to reduce AMR by avoiding infection, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands frequently, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces and cutting boards, and reducing the use of anti-bacteria products which continuously feed the bacteria living on the skin.
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17 Responses to “VI warned of ‘Antimicrobial Resistance’ that can arise from medication misuse”
If so; microbes are living things that are too small to be seen without a microscope; for example, bacteria and viruses (non-scientifically called “germs”.)
Antimicrobials are medications that, when used correctly, treat infections caused by these microbes.
Not the use of but the over-use and misuse of antibiotics in particular has caused a world wide health problem. An example of misuse would be taking antibiotics (antibacterial’s) for a cold (a viral infection) or not taking the full course of the medication when you have a bacterial infections.
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