THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) HAS WARNED THAT DRUG RESISTANCE IS BECOMING MORE SEVERE AND MANY INFECTIONS ARE NO LONGER EASILY CURED, LEADING TO PROLONGED AND EXPENSIVE TREATMENT AND GREATER RISK OF DEATH.
SPEAKING ON THE WORLD HEALTH DAY UNDER THE THEME "COMBAT DRUG RESISTANCE", WHO HAS SINCE CALLED FOR URGENT AND CONCERTED ACTION BY GOVERNMENTS, HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, INDUSTRY AND CIVIL SOCIETY AND PATIENTS TO SLOW DOWN THE SPREAD OF DRUG RESISTANCE, LIMIT ITS IMPACT TODAY AND PRESERVE MEDICAL ADVANCES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL DR MARGARET CHAN SAYS THE ABSENCE OF URGENT CORRECTIVE AND PROTECTIVE ACTIONS, THE WORLD IS HEADING TOWARDS A POST-ANTIBIOTIC ERA, IN WHICH MANY COMMON INFECTIONS WILL NO LONGER HAVE A CURE AND, ONCE AGAIN, KILL UNABATED.
AND TODAY, WHO IS PUBLISHING A POLICY PACKAGE THAT SETS OUT THE MEASURES GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR NATIONAL PARTNERS NEED TO COMBAT DRUG RESISTANCE.
THE POLICY STEPS RECOMMENDED BY WHO INCLUDE: DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A COMPREHENSIVE FINANCED NATIONAL PLAN,STRENGTHENING SURVEILLANCE AND LABORATORY CAPACITY, ENSURING UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINES OF ASSURED QUALITY, REGULATING AND PROMOTING RATIONAL USE OF MEDICINES, AND ENHANCE INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL AMONG OTHERS.
LAST YEAR, AT LEAST 440,000 NEW CASES OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT-TUBERCULOSIS WERE DETECTED AND EXTENSIVELY DRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS HAS BEEN REPORTED IN 69 COUNTRIES TO DATE.
WHO FURTHER SAYS SERIOUS INFECTIONS ACQUIRED IN HOSPITALS CAN BECOME FATAL BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DIFFICULT TO TREAT AND DRUG-RESISTANT STRAINS OF MICROORGANISM ARE SPREAD FROM ONE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION TO ANOTHER IN TODAY'S INTERCONNECTED AND GLOBALIZED WORLD.
RESISTANCE IS ALSO EMERGING TO THE ANTIRETROVIRAL MEDICINES USED TO TREAT PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV.
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