2023-12-29 03:38:31
Self-medication, indiscriminate use of drugs and the acquisition of drugs on the informal market are some of the behaviors responsible for antibiotic resistance; a situation that set off alarm bells of concern in the world of clinical health and in academia.
Data from the Pan American Health Organization, supported by the World Health Organization, indicate that the alerts respond to the fact that today there are more than seven hundred thousand deaths annually, globally, due exclusively to infections by bacteria resistant to antibiotics. . The biggest concern is that in the next 25 years, the number would increase to 10 million deaths worldwide.
The doctor in Microbiology and head of the Medical Technology program at the Catholic University of Temuco (UCT), Víctor Silva Vargas, explained that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a great threat to global health, because “it endangers the ability treatment of many infectious diseases, especially bacterial ones.
The problem is that the use of these drugs in different scenarios, even in food production, causes bacteria to adapt to the presence of antibiotics in the environment, resulting in a mutation of the same, going from a sensitive bacteria to you die from a drug, a highly resistant one. This translates into the obligation to require a more powerful product to eliminate it.
Adding to the vicious cycle is the reduction in the number of available or effective antibiotics needed to treat infections such as chronic wounds, urinary tract infections, skin ulcers or post-operative problems. And worse still, those that could be effective have a high commercial value.
Irresponsibility
The scientist and permanent consultant to the American Association of Microbiology (ASM) explained that among the causes of AMR is “the misuse of antibiotics, such as self-medication; or the behavior of those people who do not finish their treatments or suspend them. That is what generates this increase in resistance.”
Once some of the basic problems have been identified, the expert emphasizes the need not to self-medicate or buy remedies at free fairs. He recommends relying on a doctor, who prescribes a prescription considering “what the particular biological situation is, identifies the infection and the bacteria that is causing it” and with that data determines “a dose for a certain period. The person has to follow that instruction to the letter.”
It is also recommended not to share antibiotics that are left over after a treatment; since, the expert explained, “it is customary in our country, for example, that sometimes someone has a problem with a sore throat or feels like they have flu symptoms; So there is always a family member who has antibiotics saved and the person thinks that by taking them they will get better.”
recommendable
As a proposal from the academy, it is recommended to carry out training actions for health professionals, raise awareness in the community and create optimization programs in the use of this type of medicines.
While in the training curricula in higher education institutions, work is done to teach and promote the proper use of antibiotics and the study of them and the different microorganisms in order to provide reliable information to the clinical professional, so that he can make the best decisions.
In the case of the UCT, concluded Dr. Silva, “we also carry out promotional and dissemination activities towards the community. We also do campaigns leaving the university and interacting with people. In the case of our region, we participate in an intersectoral table for the rational use of antibiotics; which is sponsored and organized by the Seremi de Salud, where different entities participate, including the different universities present in La Araucanía.”
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