According to revised guidelines for the treatment of adult coronavirus patients issued by the Centre, antibiotics should not be used in Covid cases unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection.
The revised guidelines have been issued amid an uptick in coronavirus cases in some states. The centre has specifically ordered drugs such as Lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin and Doxycycline should not be used for the treatment.
Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health challenge, which has been accelerated by the overuse of antibiotics worldwide.
A doctors’ body here has time and again called for judicious use of antibiotics, underlining that the inappropriate use of antibiotics was responsible for alarming levels of antibiotic resistance in the valley.
According to it, two-thirds of antibiotics were ‘unnecessarily’ prescribed for infections caused by viruses or conditions that are not linked to infection at all.
Besides doctors, chemists also give antibiotics for everything from malaise, fatigue, body aches to headache, it had noted.
In fact, the doctor’s body had said that inappropriate and irrational use of antibiotics has turned Kashmir hospitals into breeding grounds for deadly bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics. More than 80% of the bacteria are resistant even to last resort antibiotics, it had stated.
In such a scenario, the drug regulators need to devise a stricter system of controls and checks so that not only over-the-counter antibiotics and their ill-matched combinations can be prevented but also on prescriptions by some doctors for obvious ulterior motives. Both instances often lead to resistance to antibiotics which may prove more dangerous in future than they appear in contemporary times.
Last year, a study published in the Lancet journal pointed out unwise and ‘disproportionately’ high use of antibiotics which according to weekly peer-reviewed and the world’s highest-impact general medical journal drives antibiotic resistance in India.
The Lancet survey and concerns from the concerned quarters requires thorough evaluation against present and future health problems. Perhaps a formal system of antibiotic use surveillance should be built to guide an antimicrobial stewardship program. The fresh guidelines by the centre also need to be implemented in letter and spirit. It needs to be borne in mind that infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria may cause severe illness, increased mortality rates, and an increased risk of complications and admission to hospital.
