Responding to Antibiotic Resistance
Unit 5
Learning objectives
At the end of this session learners should be able to
1. Define concepts
2. Explain the causes and consequences of microbial resistance
3. Explain measures/strategies to combat microbial resistance
4. Explain the importance TB treatment in microbial resistance
Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance
• Antibiotic resistance refers specifically to the resistance to antibiotics
that occurs in common bacteria that cause infections.
• Antimicrobial resistance is a broader term, encompassing resistance to
drugs that treat infections caused by other microbes as well, such as
parasites (e.g, malaria), viruses (e.g, HIV) and fungi (e.g, Candida)” (WHO
definition).
Antimicrobial Drug Resistance
Causes:
• Wrong prescribing practices
• Non-adherence by patients
• Counterfeit drugs
• Use of anti-infective drugs in animals & plants
Antimicrobial Drug Resistance
Consequences:
• Prolonged hospital admissions
• Higher death rates from infections
• Requires more expensive, more toxic drugs
• Higher health care costs
ENVIRONMENT
Climate change Mega-cities
Vector
Pollution Migration
proliferation
Exploitation
Population
Antibiotics HUMAN Growth
Vector
resistance
Food
production
ANIMALS VECTORS
Intensive farming
Transmission
Addressing Microbial Drug Resistance
• Antimicrobial drugs have saved lives, eased the suffering of millions of
people, and contributed to major gains in life expectancy.
• However, the emergence of resistance in bacteria, viruses, parasites, and
fungi is undermining those gains, eliminating the availability of effective
treatments for many infectious diseases.
Current issues that underscore the dangers of drug‐resistant diseases include:
• Emergence in healthcare settings of gram‐negative bacteria like E. coli and K.
pneumoniae that are resistant to antibiotics of last resort (carbapenems)
• International spread of extremely drug‐resistant TB
• Increasing gonococcal resistance to available antibiotics
• Increasing number of hospital outbreaks involving drug‐resistant
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance
• Combating antimicrobial resistance requires a multi-pronged, multi-
sector approach that includes developing and advancing policies and
programs designed to;
• Reduce the prevalence of resistant infections
• Improve surveillance for emerging antimicrobial resistance problems in
human and animal settings, such as through efforts to enhance
laboratory sharing of resistance patterns
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance
• Prolong the useful life of antimicrobial drugs through judicious use,
taking into account both human and veterinary use
• Encourage development of new antimicrobial drugs
• Promote development and optimal use of vaccines
• Improve laboratory capacities and diagnostics aimed at detecting and
characterizing new or emerging organisms resistant to antimicrobials.
Summary (WHO) Feb 2018
Key facts on antibiotic resistance
• Threat to global health, food security and development today
• Can affect anyone, anywhere and any age (all at risk)
• Occurs naturally but misuse of antibiotics in humans and
animals is accelerating the process
• Growing number infections that are hard to deal with e.g
Tuberculosis- mono-resistant, poly-resistant, MDR TB, XDR TB,
TDR TB
• Leads to prolonged hospitalisation, high medical costs and
increased mortality
Types
