By Teresa May Bandiola
The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is celebrated this year from November 18th to 24th. It aims to increase awareness of global “Antimicrobial Resistance” (AMR).
AMR is a worldwide health problem and a threat to the efficacy of antimicrobial drugs. This phenomenon occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change and no longer respond to medicines, making common infections harder to treat and thus increase the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.
People often confuse AMR with “Antibiotic Resistance” (ABR). AMR is a broader term than ABR, the latter referring specifically to the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics that are used to treat the infections they cause. Since antibiotics are the commonly used antimicrobials, antibiotic resistance has become a more popular term than antimicrobial resistance.
Microorganisms that develop AMR are sometimes called “superbugs.” Their resistance occurs naturally over time, through genetic changes. However, this can also be aggravated by other factors, largely through the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial drugs, both in humans and animals.
The misuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to accelerated emergence and spread of ABR. COVID-19 is caused by a virus, not by bacteria and therefore, antibiotics should not be used unless bacterial infections are also present.
If bacteria are becoming resistant faster than new antibiotics are developed, the challenge that humankind has to face is to continue designing or re-designing strategies to combat antibiotic resistance at the soonest possible time. These include the introduction of new and often expensive antibiotics, the use of antibiotic combinations, and efforts to avoid the misuse and abuse of antibiotics. This is urgent because the threat could lead to the possibility of reaching a post-antibiotic era, where ordinary infections and minor injuries, which have been non-threatening for years, can become fatal once again. In addition, it can also increase health care costs and could endanger the economy.
In our communities, there has been a wrong practice where we have been using antibiotics for self-medication when in fact, they require medical consultation and diagnosis. This is why buying these drugs in a pharmacy requires a prescription (reseta) that is written by a legitimate doctor. A lot of people think that antibiotics can be used for viral infections like colds or flu so pharmacists, as front-line practitioners, need to correct this misconception and take a more proactive role in educating patients and raising awareness. Worse, the public thinks that antibiotics are like vitamins that can be used anytime they want to.
Unfortunately, resistant microbes know no borders, and they can also be present in animals, particularly in farm animals and domestic pets. The majority of livestock breeders do not only use antibiotics to treat or prevent infections but also to enhance animal growth and production, which is wrong. And because the usage of antibiotics in animal husbandry is often profit-driven rather than health-oriented, the development of antibiotic resistance is higher. This can then enter the food chain and transmission begins. Pets at home are no exceptions. There are also possibilities that antibiotics can be misused in pets for viral or parasitic infections, or improper use or under-dosing of medication can be committed by the owner himself. All these can pose danger to antibiotic resistance. And it can go to the environment and be spread between people and animals and from people to people.
The celebration of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week this year also aims to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. Although there are many efforts coming from governments and various health sectors, it is critically important that every one of us must cooperate. We are all in this together. We have to act now before the treatment of all types of infection is… nothing!
Teresa May Bandiola is a licensed pharmacist, a published writer, and a university instructor. She can be reached at bandiolateresamayb@gmail.com.
