Urgent Call for Action Against Antimicrobial Resistance

Summary:

The Global Steering Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has issued a dire warning about the escalating dangers of AMR, underscoring the urgent need for global leaders to address this looming health and economic crisis. AMR, resulting from extensive use of antibiotics, antifungals, and antiparasitics in humans, animals, and agriculture, is significantly compounded by environmental changes from the climate crisis. Already a leading cause of death worldwide, AMR threatens to drastically reduce life expectancy and impose staggering costs on global healthcare and the economy if immediate and decisive actions are not taken.

Important Points:

• AMR's Growing Threat: Resistance to antimicrobials is causing widespread health crises, with environmental factors exacerbating the spread of drug-resistant infections.

• Global Steering Group Report: A new report highlights the urgency of addressing AMR to prevent health and economic catastrophes.

• Impact and Costs: AMR is directly responsible for over 1.27 million deaths annually and could lead to significant decreases in life expectancy and productivity, with projected costs running into hundreds of billions annually by 2035.

Additional Information to Remember:

• Climate Crisis and AMR: Environmental changes are increasing the risk of infectious diseases, including those resistant to drugs, highlighting the interconnectedness of AMR and climate change.

• Economic Impact Study: Forecasts indicate AMR will cost the world $412 billion a year in additional health costs and $443 billion in lost labor productivity within a decade.

• Global Response Required: The report calls for immediate, large-scale actions by world leaders to combat AMR, emphasizing a critical window of opportunity.

Key Words and Descriptions:

1. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): The phenomenon where bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.

2. Global Steering Group on Antimicrobial Resistance: An initiative aimed at driving international attention and action to combat the growing threat of AMR, recognizing it as a critical global health issue that requires immediate and coordinated action.

3. Antimicrobials: Medications used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals, and plants. They include antibiotics, antifungals, and antiparasitics. Overuse and misuse of these drugs in humans, animals, and agriculture contribute significantly to the rise of resistant strains of microbes.

4. Climate Crisis and AMR: The report draws a connection between environmental changes due to the climate crisis and the increased spread of infectious diseases, including those involving drug-resistant infections. This underscores the complex interplay between climate change and public health challenges.

5. Economic Impact of AMR: The staggering projected costs associated with AMR — including healthcare costs and loss of labour productivity — underscore the potential economic disaster alongside the health crisis. It emphasizes the need for immediate action to prevent spiraling costs and loss of life.

6. Life Expectancy Reduction: The projection that AMR could reduce life expectancy by an average of 1.8 years by 2035 highlights the direct impact on human health and longevity, making it one of the most significant threats to global health.

7. Deaths Attributable to AMR: The report's assertion that AMR is directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths a year places it among the leading causes of death worldwide, emphasizing the critical need for global health interventions.

Published in : The Hindu

Date appeared in newspaper : 06 April 2024

Link to the article (might require a paid subscription) : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/2024-04-06/th_international/articleG6BCKOVU4-6372115.ece

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