World Health Organization survey reveals public misunderstanding about antibiotic resistance

Each year in the United States, more than 2 million people get sick from antibiotic resistance and 23,000 die, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection reports.

“The findings of this survey point to the urgent need to improve understanding around antibiotic resistance”, says Dr Keiji Fukuda, Special Representative of the Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance.

Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medications used to combat illness and have been credited with saving countless lives over the decades since their discovery.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) ramps up its fight against antibiotic resistance, a new multi-country surveyshows people are confused about this major threat to public health and donot understand how to prevent it from growing. We can do better! It has been known for a long time that bacteria were mutating and acquiring immunity to more and more antibiotics.

The emergence of MCR-1 heralds the breach of the last group of antibiotics, polymyxins, by plasmid-mediated resistance.

What about patients and caregivers themselves? Obviously, the term actually refers to bacteria becoming resistant to drugs.

“We are speeding up the process dramatically by using antibiotics too much and often in the wrong contexts”. Soon, we may run out of antibiotics to treat gonorrhea, one the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The Pew Charitable Trust briefing on Capitol Hill featuring supermoms: A Pew coalition of “Supermoms against Superbugs” will join the Pew Charitable Trust and CDC Director Dr. Frieden at a Capitol Hill Briefing on November 18, 2015.

There are four types of infection – bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic, and antibiotics are only effective against the bacterial kind.

Betsey Booren, Ph.D., vice president of scientific affairs for the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), expressed disappointment that “Consumer Reports continues to perpetuate myths about “superbugs” on meat and poultry products”.

“We need careful surveillance to track the potential global spread of this resistance”.

For those of us who also take care of children, the situation is not that different.

But why should we be concerned about antibiotic use on the farm?

“They demand antibiotics from their doctors or simply buy it themselves from the pharmacy, using an old prescription”, he said. Antibiotics don’t work on viruses.

“All of us can take action”.

“Our concern is that we don’t want resistance to become an excuse for access”.

Clinicians can improve prescribing practices.

One-third to one-half of antibiotics used in people are unnecessary or inappropriate, and contribute to antibiotic resistance. And 3 percent were resistant to the antibiotic ceftriaxone, which is the first-line of treatment in children.

Patients can get smart about antibiotics.

Antibiotics should be used carefully under the supervision of a vet and not as a substitute for good animal nutrition and hygiene. The common cold and flu are not cured by antibiotics, but when you get it, take it all the way to the end – full course. Often, they are already working directly with medical and nursing staff to ensure that patients are prescribed the best treatment by advising on drug selection, dose, and administration method.

Brown says when you visit a doctor and he prescribes you an antibiotic, it’s important to ask questions.

“Nevertheless, the worldwide Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) recently published a report that called for greater pharmacist involvement in antimicrobial stewardship efforts and detailed specific contributions that pharmacists can make”. CDC recommends washing your hands under running water with soap for 15 seconds, or rubbing them with an alcohol-based hand rub and letting them dry thoroughly.