Drug resistance now a major health concern

The increasing resistance to drugs meant for treating diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV has become a major health concern worldwide.

“We are on the brink of a post-antibiotic era, when many common infections will no longer have a cure. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that a large number of people are dying every year due to the growing drug resistance to life-threatening diseases,” said GS Rao, managing director, Yashoda group of Hospitals.

The reasons for bacteria becoming drug resistant are substantial usage of drugs, chronic illness, complicated diseases and frequent visit to doctors, Rao said. He was speaking at a seminar on combating drug resistance, the theme chosen by WHO marking this year's World Health Day. He added that people mostly skip the dosages of antibiotics mid-course.

 

Hetero Drugs chairman and managing director Bandi Parthasaradhi Reddy said the company was investing in research and development to strengthen the arsenal of antibiotics available.

“There is an urgent need for unified commitment to save these antibiotics for future generations,” he said.

According to RP Meena, director general, Drug Control Administration, ‘super bugs’ (ie, micro-organisms which become resistant to most anti-biotics) are a major concern of the nati-onal drug policy.

“We are working on the issue and we will come up with more stringent laws to combat the issue, particularly on surveillance and monitoring of sub-standard medicines,” he said.