DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has urged the public to be cautious while using antiviral and antibiotic medications to avoid antimicrobial resistance (AMR) — a major threat to public health across the globe.
Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work in people who need them to treat infections.
Improper use of antibiotics, self-medication, shortening the duration of antibiotic dosage, and failure to complete the course of dosage as prescribed by physicians will lead to antibiotic resistance, says HMC’s Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist Dr Eyad Tawfiq Mohamed Al Madhoun (pictured).
A report by World Health Organisation (WHO), the first review of antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, has revealed that the threat of antimicrobial resistance ‘is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country’.
Data in the report show extensive antibiotic resistance across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region with high levels of E. coli, (a bacterium that can cause serious infections), resistance to third generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones — two important and commonly used types of antibacterial medicine.
Resistance to third generation cephalosporins in K. pneumoniae is also high and widespread.
In some parts of the region, more than half of Staphylococcus aureus infections are reported to be methicillin-resistant (MRSA), meaning that treatment with standard antibiotics does not work. The report reveals major gaps in tracking of antibiotic resistance in the region.
“We are in a good situation in Qatar as far as antibiotic resistance is concerned due to the law prohibiting the use of antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription. Health authorities also ensure that only high quality antibiotic medications are available in the country. We also aim to always keep up-to-date with latest antibiotic medications and therapy,” said Al Madhoun.
He said antibacterial resistance occurs because bacteria have smart systems whereby they develop resistance to organisms through various mechanisms, causing resilience to antibiotics. Dangers relating to this resistance are well recognized. He said when organisms are resistant to antibiotics, they become difficult to treat. “This is why manufacturers of antibiotics have to keep updating drugs to combat new resilience to infections.”
He said resistance also happens when doctors prescribe antibiotic when not needed. Some doctors tend to prescribe antibiotics for patients when it is not necessary. Some viral infections are self-limiting, so the infected people only need support therapy but when antibiotics are prescribed in such situation, the bacteria is exposed to antibiotics and may adapt to the molecules of the drug, causing resistance.
“The kind of antibiotic prescribed for an infection could also lead to resistance as some bacterial infections do not require strong broad spectrum antibiotics, usually prescribed for some serious infections,” he said.
Keeping infections at bay by observing proper personal and food hygiene will go a long way towards preventing people from falling sick and needing antibiotics, he added.
“Ensuring food is clean and hygienically processed before eating; fruits and vegetables are properly washed with fresh water; and maintaining proper hand hygiene by washing hands after using the toilet, coughing or sneezing are other ways of preventing bacterial infections,” he said. The Peninsula
