India is the Largest User of Antibiotic meant for Multi-drug Resistant Bacteria

A recent study has revealed that India is the largest user of an antibiotic drug called carbapenems that is meant only as a “last resort drug” for fatal multi-drug resistant bacteria. The Telehgraph reported that the study is the world’s largest analysis of antibiotics consumption, which has found that retail sales of carbapenems in India jumped from 0.15 standard units per 1,000 populations in 2005 to nearly 3.8 standard units per 1, 000 populations in 2010, one of the steepest gradients in the world.

"Carbapenems are currently considered the most powerful available antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacterial infections that are typically seen among patients admitted in intensive care units. The carbapenems are seen as “last-resort” antibiotics," said Ramanan Laxminarayanan, a health economist and vice-presidents of research at the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi.

The study has also revealed that this current case is not the only alarming revelation regarding India and antibiotics.

India has come out to be the world’s overall largest consumer of antibiotics followed by China and the U.Ss, according to a study by Princeton University researchers who have conducted a broad assessment of consumption of antibiotic all over the world.

The study puts a light on the growing alarm that is surrounding antibiotic-resistant pathogens along with a loss of efficacy among antibiotics used to combat most common illnesses. These found that worldwide the antibiotic use has grown a staggering 36 percent over the last 10 years with at least five countries being responsible for more than three quarters of the surge.

Among the 16 groups of antibiotics that were studied, cephalosporins, fluroquinlolones and broad-spectrum penicillins accounted for more than half of the increase with the consumption rising 55 percent from 2000 to 2010.

In India, the main reason for an increased consumption of the drug is Tuberculosis, which the country has been fighting against for a really long time.

Article source: Firstpost
Image source: Getty
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