Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company has called on government and the public health community to work together and support measures that would enable continuous innovation in the development of new antibiotics and vaccines.
That for them is expected to help curb the spread of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)which is now a global threat.
Pfizer in a virtual media roundtable to create awareness about Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship(AMS) added that AMR needed urgent attention.
“If AMR continuous to rise and not checked, minor infections can become life-threatening, serious infections can become superbugs that are impossible to treat, and many routine medical procedures can become too risky to perform adding that by 2050, the UN estimates that up to 10 million deaths could be caused by superbugs and associated forms of antimicrobial resistance, matching the annual global death toll of cancer.
The roundtable saw participants discuss the need for AMS as treatment of infections is becoming more difficult due to widespread emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
Dr. Kodjo Soroh, Medical Director West Africa Pfizer, explained that: “Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines in effect making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
For instance he said, AMR is one of the biggest threats to global health today and could affect anyone, of any age, in any country If it rise continuous to go unchecked.
“AMR is expected to cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050. Overuse of antibiotics is creating stronger germs. Some bacteria are already “resistant” to common antibiotics. When bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, it is often harder and more expensive to treat the infection. Losing the ability to treat serious bacterial infections is a major threat to public health”
“Currently, at least 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases. More and more common diseases, including respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted infections and urinary tract infections, are untreatable; lifesaving medical procedures are becoming much riskier, and our food systems are increasingly precarious” he stated.
Prof. Kwame Ohene Buabeng, a Clinical Pharmacologist and a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) commented that AMR increases morbidity and mortality, and was associated with high economic costs due to its health care burden.
Infections with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria he said also had substantial implications on clinical and economic outcomes.
“Moreover, increased indiscriminate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic heightened bacterial resistance and ultimately led to more deaths. This review highlights AMR’s scale and consequences, the importance, and implications of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) to fight resistance and protect global health” he stated.
Dr. Yaw Ampem Amoako a Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine and Dentistry of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician and Research Scientist at Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) on his part said his outfit optimised the use of antimicrobials.
He said with the rates of AMR increasing worldwide, and very few new antibiotics being developed, existing antibiotics were becoming a limited resource therefore essential that antibiotics only be prescribed.
“A robust pipeline of new antimicrobials is essential to restoring the balance against increasing rates of AMR”he stated
