Illogical use of antibiotics needs to be checked

Islamabad

The illogical use of antibiotics without proper diagnosis is one of the main factors for the emergence of bacterial resistance to many antibiotics and according to health experts, the practice is needed to be checked religiously to reduce morbidity and mortality rates among patients suffering from various infective illnesses.

As a result of ever increasing drug resistance among population, a number of infectious illnesses cannot be well managed even with high doses of toxic antibiotics and the situation is leading Pakistan to a critical state by bearing well over 90 per cent burden of infectious diseases. Studies reveal that Pakistan is among the top 10 countries which bear such a high burden of infective illnesses.

To minimize losses because of drug resistance, experts believe that there is a need to change approach for diagnosis and treatment of infections and for that diagnosis based upon both the serological tests and accurate drug sensitivity results depending upon specific bacterial and mycobacterial cultures is need of the time.

Bacterial and mycobacterial cultures can be defined as primary diagnostic methods used as tools to determine the cause of infectious diseases and to look for the bacteria that cause tuberculoses and similar infections.

Health experts have been stressing upon the need of changes required in the diagnostic and management approach for various infective illnesses to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates in younger age groups for years though not much has yet been done on the subject.

In Pakistan, factors including poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation systems, lack of safe water supply and overcrowding have already been playing major role in adding to the high prevalence of infectious diseases in children and young adults.

Based on evidence, it is a reality that provision of good health care facilities for both urban and rural population in the country has been a challenging task and the factors causing high prevalence of infectious diseases among general population are also worsening the disease prognosis in children suffering from infectious diseases.

The poor diagnostic and management approach cause not less than 70 per cent of deaths in children and younger age groups in Pakistan where every year, about 400,000 infants die in the first year of their lives from diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and like illnesses, said Professor of Microbiology Dr. Humaira Zafar while talking to ‘The News’ on Saturday.

She said it is important that the most common and lethal diseases in Pakistan include diarrhoea, dysentery, respiratory tract infections, typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera, meningitis and viral hepatitis.

Serological tests for the confirmatory diagnosis of any infective illness can be termed as a gold standard and if done in combination with culture and sensitivity, both can be very beneficial to identify the drug of choice for an infection, she said.

She believes that the healthcare professionals should be trained on the subject for treating any infection as by following international standards on diagnostic and management approaches, the mortality rates particularly among younger age groups can be reduced to a significant level.

The practice of performing bacterial and mycobacterial cultures would also help in reducing financial burden imposed by prescription of excessive or wrong medicines for the management of an infectious illness. Preliminary serological test and culture done prior to proceeding for any treatment option would help controlling infectious diseases, said Dr. Humaira.