The discovery of antibiotics almost ninety years ago changed the course of modern medicine, giving doctors the ability to treat previously fatal infections. Millions of lives have been saved as a result. However, antibiotics have become a victim of their own success by being used too frequently, and often unnecessarily – in both human and animal health. This has led to the emergence of new kinds of bacteria which are resistant to antibiotic treatments. The phenomenon of antibiotic resistance threatens the health and lives of everyone, the environment, as well as the sustainability of our food and agriculture production systems.
This week is World Antibiotics Awareness Week. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s global campaign, ‘Antibiotics: Handle with Care’, is calling on individuals, health professionals and policy makers to take urgent action to address this global problem.
“Antibiotic resistance can affect anyone, of any age, in any country. It is conceivable that in 20 years, treatments such as chemotherapy for cancer and simple surgery will become impossible because they rely on antibiotics to protect patients from infection. We are facing a future where a cough or cut could kill once again,” explained Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China.
The impact of antibiotic resistance is already very real. Every year, drug-resistant infections are responsible for killing an estimated 700 000 people worldwide—most of these in developing countries. Some estimate that by 2050 antimicrobial resistance could be responsible for killing 10 million people a year globally, the equivalent of 1 person every 3 seconds - more than cancer kills today.
Huge steps have been taken this year in China to address this growing global crisis. In August, WHO welcomed China’s launch of its National Action Plan to Contain Antimicrobial Resistance 2016-2020. Dr Schwartländer said “We applaud the fourteen departments for working collaboratively and publishing this joint plan. I fully believe that this multi-sectoral approach across both human health and animal health is critical for taking concerted effort to effectively tackle AMR.”
Given the multi-sectoral nature of AMR, everyone has a key role to play in tackling antibiotic resistance. Action is needed on the part of human medicine (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, patients), animal medicine (vets, farmers, the food industry), the pharmaceutical industry and the general public.
“We must improve awareness and understanding of AMR: among those who prescribe and dispense antibiotics, but also among patients — for instance, awareness about taking antibiotics correctly. And we need to reduce the incidence of infection — for example with simple measures such as washing their hands,” Dr Schwartländer urged.
That China is already doing many of these things shows that it is poised to lead the global fight on AMR. WHO China looks forward to working with the National Health and Family Planning Commission as part of this year’s World Antibiotics Awareness Week to encourage more people to be drivers of change in tackling antibiotic resistance.
About World Health Organization
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.