Fighting the Super Bugs on World Health Day 2011 and beyond!!

Two weeks ago, on the 7th April, 2011, the world celebrated World Health Day and joined WHO in its battle against drug-resistant super bugs . The theme chosen for action this year by the World Health Organization (W.H.O) is Antimicrobial Resistance and its global spread.

If the theme sounds intimidating to you, hear this. Bugs (bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasitic microbes) are mutating (changing their composition) at a rapid pace globally and as the medical fraternity and mankind scramble to counter this phenomenon; these smart bugs are turning themselves into super-bugs.

Super Bugs is the term used to describe microbes who become resistant to existent drugs like antibiotics which, in layman terms means that if this bug were to ‘bug someone,’ he would have to look for some out -worldly intervention as there is no known cure to treat the infection/disease caused by this bug on the planet. Some of the commonly known Super bugs which have wreaked havoc in recent times include the;

• MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
• E.coli (Escherichia coli named after the German bacteriologist Theodor Escherichia who discovered it)
• New strains of the HIV AIDS virus
• New strains of the HINI swine flu virus

So why are drugs becoming ineffective and why are bugs turning into super bugs now?

The answer lies unfortunately in mankind’s greed for more. We want animals to be healthier and fatter so that they can produce more and better quality to satisfy the insatiable hunger of billions of human beings. Thus, we inject animals with antibiotics which enter the food chain and in a vicious cycle, affect the human capability to fight bugs and make the bugs more resistive to existent drugs.

Greed also makes unscrupulous pharmacists sell antibiotics without prescription and without bills in countries like China and India where surveillance is not very tight. Greed is also responsible for the malaise of spurious drugs across the world. As a result of easy accessibility of these drugs, the rampant use of antibiotics is causing the whole populace to develop resistance to the treatment.

The other factors causing the antimicrobial drugs to fail are that as consumers we are not vigilant enough, sometimes we are looking for quick solutions to everything including illness even if it causes some harm on the way and sometimes sadly enough, we just don’t care till the danger is right at our doorstep. So we self-prescribe antibiotics, pressurize the doctor to do so and sometimes just abandon the medicine half-way because we don’t think we need it anymore.

WHO is doing its part, though some would accuse it’s a little late in the day, and has come up with a 6 point policy plan to actively engage Governments of different countries and communities to fight this menace by becoming aware and doing the right thing. The governments of various nations will undoubtedly pledge their support by upping surveillance and curbing unscrupulous vendors, pharmacists and doctors.

I contributed a news article on World Health Day with briefs on WHO's policy and reports from all over the world on how these super bugs have unleashed terror on mankind which can be accessed here.

It is clear that urgent action is required. It is also evident that policies on paper can only remain as much till awareness, follow up and implementation is as much as a priority as the policy and that it continues to be a priority area through the year 2011.

Now two weeks on from the day-what can we as individuals do to help WHO combat this huge threat. Is there anything we can do? Do we, as responsible social beings look for ways of supporting the medical world find a solution to this life-threatening problem looming large ahead of us or do we wait for some super-hero to save us from the super-bugs?

How we- you and I can fight the Super-Bugs?

1. Never self-prescribe antibiotics or anti-viral drugs. Antibiotics and anti-viral medicines are not common-use drugs and must always be taken after consultation with a medical practitioner. Taking these drugs without sufficient reason can build resistance to the bugs, their mutation and also cause relapse.

2. Always follow the prescribed dosage. Antibiotics or any other antimicrobial drugs are to be taken in a certain composition and for a certain time period to be able cure. Leaving them halfway or because you are feeling well and/or skipping a dose causes the bug to resurface in a fiercely resistant mode.

3. Do not pressurize the doctor into prescribing you antibiotics; trust your doctor’s judgment to do so. Many doctors insist that patients are not satisfied unless a long list of medicines is handed out to them which more often than not include antibiotics.

4. Always buy the antimicrobial drugs from a registered pharmacist –present the doctor’s written prescription and insist on an itemized bill for the same.

5. Report a pharmacist, chemist who is willing to sell antibiotics or other medicines marked ‘only to be sold on the prescription of a medical practitioner’ without a prescription. Report if he is willing to sell in a larger quantity than prescribed or without a valid bill.

6. Spread the word through word-of mouth, the media, the social networking channels- Face book, Twitter.

Go ahead forward this blog post to as many friends as possible and unleash a war against these Super Bug(s) this World Health Day, 2011 and beyond. Remember, ’No action today, no cure tomorrow.’’

Access WHO's website in case you are looking for more information on the subject.