World Health Day: Urgent action needed against antimicrobial resistance, says health official
Health experts raise concern over new infections no longer easily cured.
PESHAWAR:
Drug resistance is becoming a more severe problem than before, with new kinds of infections no longer being easily cured, said Special Secretary Health Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Noorul Iman while addressing a function in connection with World Health Day on Thursday. The theme of the day was “Combat Drug Resistance: Antimicrobial resistance: no action today, no cure tomorrow”. Noorul Iman called for urgent and concerted action by the government, health professionals, media persons and civil society to slow down the spread of drug resistance, limit its impact today and preserve medical advances for future generations.
He said antimicrobial resistance is not a new problem but one that is becoming more dangerous, with urgent and consolidated efforts needed to avoid regressing to the pre-antibiotic era. The secretary said that the role of doctor was important when it comes to prescription, adding that antibiotics are not the only solution when it comes to bacteria as globally people were moving away from its usage.
“Antibiotics in surgical cases is a thing of the past,” he added. Moreover, he went on to add that antibiotics were expensive and the way forward is prevention, rather than cure. He said the media can play an effective role in raising awareness among people about resistance developed in bacteria against antibiotics. Noorul Iman said there was a need to stress on hygiene such as clean drinking water and general cleanliness so as to stem the causes of infectious diseases.
He said hospitals should be bound to publish their data for information of the public, adding that the health department was working on a number of initiatives to bring positive change in the health sector. Earlier, in a presentation, Director Health Services KPK Dr Abdul Latif said Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a global concern and controlling infectious diseases has become a challenge. Referring to the causes of AMR, he said plans and resources were not comprehensive and surveillance systems were weak. He stressed upon the need to raise awareness on what drives AMR and to build commitment for effective policies.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2011.
Drug resistance is becoming a more severe problem than before, with new kinds of infections no longer being easily cured, said Special Secretary Health Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Noorul Iman while addressing a function in connection with World Health Day on Thursday. The theme of the day was “Combat Drug Resistance: Antimicrobial resistance: no action today, no cure tomorrow”. Noorul Iman called for urgent and concerted action by the government, health professionals, media persons and civil society to slow down the spread of drug resistance, limit its impact today and preserve medical advances for future generations.
He said antimicrobial resistance is not a new problem but one that is becoming more dangerous, with urgent and consolidated efforts needed to avoid regressing to the pre-antibiotic era. The secretary said that the role of doctor was important when it comes to prescription, adding that antibiotics are not the only solution when it comes to bacteria as globally people were moving away from its usage.
“Antibiotics in surgical cases is a thing of the past,” he added. Moreover, he went on to add that antibiotics were expensive and the way forward is prevention, rather than cure. He said the media can play an effective role in raising awareness among people about resistance developed in bacteria against antibiotics. Noorul Iman said there was a need to stress on hygiene such as clean drinking water and general cleanliness so as to stem the causes of infectious diseases.
He said hospitals should be bound to publish their data for information of the public, adding that the health department was working on a number of initiatives to bring positive change in the health sector. Earlier, in a presentation, Director Health Services KPK Dr Abdul Latif said Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a global concern and controlling infectious diseases has become a challenge. Referring to the causes of AMR, he said plans and resources were not comprehensive and surveillance systems were weak. He stressed upon the need to raise awareness on what drives AMR and to build commitment for effective policies.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2011.