MOUDUD AHMMED SUJAN

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming a major hurdle in controlling infectious diseases, and the steps taken so far to combat this health crisis have proved to be inadequate.

AMR occurs when germs like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines. This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of a disease spreading rapidly, ultimately leading to severe illnesses and even death.

Because of AMR, antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs become ineffective for treating both humans and animals in general.

“We are yet to make any big leap [to resolve the problem], because all factors responsible for this health crisis are still there despite all efforts,” said Prof Zakir Hossain Habib, who has been leading the laboratory-based AMR surveillance activity in 11 hospitals nationwide.

According to experts, indiscriminate use of antimicrobials, poor medicine quality, and inappropriate antimicrobial waste management are the main factors behind the proliferation of germs that have AMR.

Government studies have found that important and widely used antibiotics have lost half their effectiveness due to their increasingly irrational use.

In 2019, the High Court directed authorities to take steps to reign in over-the-counter sale of antibiotics. In response, the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) said it has incorporated a provision in the proposed drug act to penalise pharmacies for selling antibiotics without a prescription from a registered doctor.

As per DGDA’s decision, sales of antibiotics have started in red packages from November 30.

The act, however, has not been passed in parliament yet.

The preventive steps, so far, have been limited to discussions on preparing national plans and policies by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), with no field-level activities. DGHS has no budgetary allocation to contain AMR.

A 15-point to-do list made at a meeting in the health ministry on October 4 highlighted that all the plans to control AMR have been waiting to be implemented for three years.

On November 13, the “National Technical Committee on AMR Containment”, led by DGHS, had a meeting with no new agenda.

The only notable decision was about forwarding the “National AMR Strategy and Action Plan 2022-26” to the National AMR Steering Committee in the ministry -- that too after about 10 months since the technical committee approved the document.