Medical experts in Ibadan, Oyo state capital on Tuesday expressed concern over misuse and overuse of antibiotics, saying it is a major cause of antimicrobial resistance in patients. According to them, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to prevention and treatment of infections in people caused by bacteria and viruses, leading to fatalities.
Professor Temitope Alonge, the Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said antimicrobial resistance to communicable diseases remained an issue to public health not only in Nigeria but globally.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi change following exposure to antimicrobial drugs such as antimalarial and antibiotics and antifungals.
It renders drugs generally ineffective and also increases the spread of infections to humans.
Alonge condemned the practice by health professionals and patients alike and stressed the need for mass enlightenment on abuse or misuse of antibiotics.
“UCH recently constituted the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee on issues of communicable diseases to lay foundation about what people should do in case of antimicrobial resistance which has become a great health burden. Constituting a committee on anti-microbial resistance is not to showcase our experts on the field alone, but to express dismay and anger at the abuse of antibiotics among health workers. These experts would cascade information on what to do, types of antibiotics to use to treat particular diseases so that we can include them in our drug formula,” he said.
Also contributing, Professor Regina Oladokun, a Paediatric Consultant of Infectious Diseases in Children at the UCH, said that infection was a major burden in the practice of medicine in the country.
Oladokun noted that WHO’s principle of antibiotics therapy had not been strictly adhered to by many medical practitioners.
She said “The five principles of antibiotics therapy are right patient, right drugs, right route, right dose and right duration. I believe that for all paediatric cases, doctors should consult the handbook of microbial diseases before prescription. Duration of antibiotic should be determined by clinical factors like site of infection and severity of illness.’’
Professor Catherine Falade, Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist also at UCH, said that antimicrobial resistance had become a global concern.
According to her, new resistance mechanisms are emerging and spreading globally, threatening ability to treat common infectious diseases and resulting in prolonged illnesses, disability and death.
“Without effective antimicrobials for prevention and treatment of infections, medical procedures such as organ transplantation, cancer chemotherapy, diabetes management and major surgery (such as caesarean sections or hip replacements) become very high risk. Antimicrobial resistance increases the cost of health care with lengthier stays in hospitals and more intensive care required.”
In his remarks, Dr Laja Odunuga, Medical Director, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria Ltd, said antimicrobial resistance was the newest emerging public health issue in Africa.
Odunuga urged stakeholders to join hands in tackling the ever increasing burden of antimicrobial resistance.
