Antibiotic resistance kills millions of children every year - study
Kyiv • UNN
Infections resistant to antibiotics led to more than three million child deaths in 2022, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia. Since 2019, the use of "reserve antibiotics" has increased.
Millions of children's lives are taken every year by infections that are no longer treatable with conventional antibiotics. Children in Africa and Southeast Asia, where access to quality medical care is the lowest, suffer the most from these diseases.
This is reported by BBC, writes UNN.
Details
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) develops when the microbes that cause infections evolve in such a way that antibiotics stop working. This disease has been recognized as one of the most serious public health threats facing the world's population.
A new study shows the damage AMR is doing to children. Using data from various sources, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, the authors of the report estimated that in 2022, more than three million child deaths were related to drug-resistant infections. According to experts, the new study revealed a more than tenfold increase in the number of AMR-related infections in children in just three years. This figure may have increased due to the consequences of the COVID pandemic.
Wider use of antibiotics
Antibiotics are used to treat and prevent a huge range of bacterial infections — from skin infections to pneumonia. They are also sometimes prescribed as a preventive measure to prevent rather than treat an infection - for example, if someone is awaiting surgery or chemotherapy for cancer.
However, antibiotics have no effect on viral infections — diseases such as colds, flu, or COVID. However, some bacteria have now developed resistance to some drugs due to their overuse and misuse, while the production of new antibiotics is a lengthy and expensive process that has now slowed down.
The lead authors of the report, Dr. Yanhong Jessica Hu of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia and Professor Herb Harwell of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, point to a significant increase in the use of antibiotics, which should only be reserved for the most serious infections.
Between 2019 and 2021, the use of "controlled antibiotics" - drugs with a high risk of developing resistance - increased by 160% in Southeast Asia and 126% in Africa.
During the same period, demand for "reserve antibiotics" - emergency medicines for the treatment of severe infections with multiple drug resistance - increased by 45% in Southeast Asia and 125% in Africa.
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Fewer opportunities The authors warn that if bacteria develop resistance to these antibiotics, there will be few, if any, alternatives for treating infections with multiple drug resistance.
Professor Harwell will present the results of his research at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Congress in Vienna later this month.
AMR is a global problem. It affects everyone. We did this work to focus on the disproportionate impact of AMR on children
"We estimate three million child deaths worldwide are related to antimicrobial resistance."
Is there a solution to this problem
WHO describes antimicrobial resistance as one of the most serious threats to human health worldwide, but Professor Harwell warns that there are no simple answers.
This is a multifaceted problem that affects all aspects of medicine and, in essence, human life
Antibiotics are all around us, they get into our food and the environment, so finding a single solution is not easy."
He adds that the best way to avoid a resistant infection is to avoid infection altogether, which means higher levels of immunization, water purification and hygiene are needed.
"There will be more use of antibiotics as more people need them, but we need to make sure they are used correctly and the right drugs are used."
Dr. Lindsey Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at King's College London, said the new study "marks a significant and alarming increase compared to previous data."
These findings should serve as a wake-up call to global health leaders. Without decisive action, PPP could undermine decades of progress in child health, especially in the world's most vulnerable regions
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