'Under-trial antibiotic cleared superbug infection in 5 days'

Mumbai: India, where antibiotics are often self-prescribed or by chemists, has been witnessing alarming levels of antibiotic or antimicrobial resistance.

- Malathy.lyer

The Indian Council for Medical Research's (ICMR)’s fifth detailed report on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends and patterns showed that many ICU patients no longer benefit from carbapenem, a powerful antibiotic used to treat pneumonia and septicemia.

Resistance level is increasing by 5% to 10% every year for broad-spectrum antimicrobials, mainly due to discriminate use leading to resistance later one.

“India has high rates of multi-drug resistance among enterobacterales and gram-negative non-fermenters like Acinetobacter baumanii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. New treatment options are urgently needed for such multi or extremely drug-resistant pathogens,” said ICMR’s senior scientist Kamini Walia, who coordinates antimicrobial resistance and diagnostics initiatives across the country.