The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a major global public health problem.
In its recent publication, the international body has asked countries to implement hospital infection control measures so as to limit the spread of multi-drug-resistant strains, a significant contributor to AMR.
AMR – the ability of micro-organisms to find ways to evade the action of the drugs used to cure the infections they cause – is increasingly recognised as a global public health issue which could hamper the control of many infectious diseases.
Some bacteria have developed mechanisms that render them resistant to many of the antibiotics normally used for their treatment (multi-drug resistant bacteria), and so pose particular difficulties, as there may be few or no alternative options for therapy.
The issue has gained extreme severity as researchers have also identified a new gene that enables certain types of bacteria to be highly resistant to almost all antibiotics.
While multi-drug resistant bacteria are not new and will continue to appear, this development requires monitoring and further study to understand the extent and modes of transmission, and to define the most effective measures for control.
The WHO called upon governments, consumers, doctors, dispensers, veterinarians, managers of hospitals and diagnostic laboratories, patients and visitors, healthcare facilities, pharmaceutical firms, professional societies and international agencies to be alert to the problem of AMR and take appropriate steps.
The healthy body strongly recommended that governments focus control and prevention efforts in surveillance for antimicrobial resistance; rational antibiotic use, including education of healthcare workers and the public in the appropriate use of antibiotics.
It also expected governments to introduce and enforce legislation related to stopping the selling of antibiotics without prescription and strict adherence to infection prevention and control measures, including the use of hand-washing measures, particularly in healthcare facilities.
Successful control of multi-drug-resistant microorganisms has been documented in many countries, and the existing and well-known infection prevention and control measures can effectively reduce transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms if rigorously and systematically implemented.