Antibiotic (mis)use needs proper regulation

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the world's top public health challenges. According to WHO, AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019. AMR happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat drugs designed to kill them. Resistant infections can be complicated and sometimes impossible to treat. As the world grapples to find a solution for a challenge that has put many of modern medicine's gains at risk, MIT researchers have used AI to identify a new class of antibiotics that could kill a drug-resistant bacterium. Using deep learning, they showed that these compounds could kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is resistant to antibiotics. This holds much promise for pharmaceutics and healthcare.

World Bank data shows AMR could result in $1 trillion in additional healthcare costs by 2050, and $1-3.4 trillion in GDP losses annually by 2030. AMR affects countries in all regions and at all income levels. Its drivers and consequences are exacerbated by poverty and inequality. Low- and middle-income countries like India are worst affected. Globally, India tops the list with the highest antibiotic consumption and highest AMR. There are good reasons for this. India consumes a high volume of broad-spectrum antibiotics - drugs that treat a wide range of common bacterial infections and should be used sparingly - and unapproved formulations of medicines. This high volume of antibiotic consumption is mainly due to unrestricted drug manufacturing, marketing and sales, thanks to a weak regulatory structure. Doctors prefer to prescribe drugs, sometimes indiscriminately, rather than order tests.

Doctors warn that AMR resistance to antibiotics has the potential to be a pandemic. To avoid this, one which can have strong socioeconomic effects like Covid, it is imperative to strengthen regulations, invest in healthcare structure and in R&D to leverage new-age tools like AI. This is something the Global Partnership on AI member countries that includes India is doing.