Yashoda Group of Hospitals organised a unique seminar on
combating drug resistance, the theme chosen by World Health Organisation (WHO) for the 61st World Health Day. Yashoda Hospitals, pledging its support and assistance towards the WHO’s global campaign against misuse of antibiotics, brought together eminent members from healthcare industry to have an active discussion and deliver a coherent statement of commitment by all.
The seminar was aimed to create awareness on damage caused by the misuses of antibiotics in general. The seminar focussed on the need for governments and key healthcare stakeholders which includes healthcare providers, patients, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, etc to implement the much required policies and practices in preventing and checking the emergence of highly resistant micro-organisms.
It is a well known fact that antibiotics play an important role in the treatment of several communicable diseases. Although antibiotics have saved millions of lives and helped in increasing life expectancy, recent trends show intensive use of these antibiotics can reduce resistance power which in turn, can lead to microbes failing to respond to standard treatment, prolonged illness and greater risk of death. Thus, health-care providers play a key role in influencing the ways people consume antibiotics.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr G S Rao, managing director, Yashoda Group of Hospitals said, “Damage caused by misuse of antibiotics goes much beyond the damage caused to the drug itself and challenges control of infectious diseases thus increasing healthcare costs. TB, malaria and HIV are among many infectious diseases that are becoming increasingly drug resistant. As healthcare providers, our focus is always on patient safety and quality of care and we follow a strict antibiotic policy that adheres to the NABH Standards.”
R P Meena, director general, drug control administration who was also present in the seminar said, “When micro-organisms become resistant to most antibiotics, they are called ‘super bugs’. This is a major concern, because a resistant infection may kill, can spread to others and impose huge costs to individuals and society at large. We are working to strengthen surveillance and monitoring systems to check use and availability sub-standard medicines and antibiotics.”
Dr Bandi Parthasaradhi Reddy, chairman and managing director of Hetero Drugs commented, “Antibiotics, once considered wonder drugs, were used for decades to effectively treat a number of bacterial infections. Unfortunately, owing to worldwide misuse and availability of sub-standard antibiotics, common bacteria are now becoming resistant to treatment with these drugs.”
He further urged “There is an urgent need for unified commitment to save these wonder drugs for future generations. We are instituting better systems to ensure uninterrupted supply of quality medicines and antibiotics. Towards this goal, we are investing in more research and development to strengthen the arsenal of antibiotics available in our society.”