Conference: ‘Misuse of antibiotics adding to major health issues’

Nationwide campaign launched to create awareness about overuse, side effects of antibiotics.

ISLAMABAD:

Health experts have said that misuse of antibiotics was adding to major health issues in the country.

They were speaking at the launch of the nationwide “Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative in Pakistan (ASIP)” campaign on Saturday to create awareness about misuse and overuse of antibiotics and their adverse effects.

The ASIP was launched at the concluding ceremony of a two-day annual conference on infectious diseases held under the theme “new challenges and frontiers in infectious diseases”, organised by the Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Society of Pakistan (MMIDSP) at a local hotel. The conference was attended by over 350 doctors, pharmacists and medical students from across the country.

Consultant pediatrician at Shifa International Hospital and MMIDSP President Dr Ejaz Khan told The Express Tribune that misuse of antibiotics was rampant in the country and causing a major health crisis. He said the drive has been launched to create awareness among the masses about the dangers of antibiotic abuse and train people at both institutional and community level.

He said the ASIP aims to ensure that patients get the right antibiotics at the right time they are needed.

“It will specifically focus on hospitals within Pakistan and communities where upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea are prevalent. These are the places antibiotics are misused most,” Khan said.

Antibiotic-resistant organisms were a major challenge for the management of patients and institutions and there were no new antibiotics to treat multidrug resistant organisms, he said.

Talking about the spread of infectious diseases, he said it was unfortunate that in Pakistan people were dying of wholly preventable diseases.

He urged the need for an immediate and comprehensive plan to control the rapid spread of infectious diseases by gathering an accurate data on the number of patients suffering from different diseases.

A senior physician said the trend of prescribing antibiotics to patients suffering from mild headaches or flu was a common phenomenon, which was worrisome and alarming.

“Patients are ignoring the harmful effects of antibiotics and they think the doctor has really helped them by prescribing such medicine,” he said.

Besides this, the trend of self-medication was also on the rise and just to increase their sales, pharmacists do not bother to even ask customers for prescriptions, he said.

The doctor said there was a need to focus on providing a hygienic environment to patients and their attendants at public hospitals.

Bed sheets need to be washed regularly, surgical equipment should properly be sterilised, and washroom cleanliness should be properly maintained, he said.

“There are many patients who get hospital-acquired infections and usually fail to survive,” he said.

Earlier, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Director AQ Javed Iqbal said public health has always been a challenge in Pakistan.

“We have to clearly understand our endemic infectious diseases and formulate our own health needs. No factor in disease control is more important than awareness.”

Indus Hospital Karachi Infectious Diseases Consultant Dr Naseem Salahuddin said a task force will be formed with representation from different government and private organisations to make recommendations for policymakers to tackle the challenge of misuse of antibiotics.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2014.