KOCHI: Vasundhara (name changed), 67, from Kochi had a bypass surgery and was admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital. She stayed there for 46 days and was sensitive to colistin (last-ditch-effort antibiotic). She expired.Kalpana (name changed), 71, was referred to a hospital for surgical-site infection with a sacral bed sore. She was in the hospital for 66 days. Her resistance to certain antibiotics led to her lengthier stay and increase of expense.
‘Drug resistance’ has become widespread in Kerala now and it is increasing every day, posing serious threat to the health sector. The TB, diabetic and transplant patients fall in the high-risk category when it comes to drug resistance. Shockingly, ‘multidrug resistance’ is also somewhat common in Kerala.
‘Drug resistance’ has resulted from the ‘overuse’ of drugs that were meant to protect the human body from bacteria. The use of antibiotics for even a mere cough or cold has led to the microorganisms adapting to them and evolving to survive. In some ailments, wrong antibiotics are used.
“’Over the counter’ sale of antibiotics is common in Kerala. There are 24 antibiotics that are to be sold only when there is a double prescription where one copy of it is left with the pharmacy,” said Sanjeev Singh, doctor, Amrita Hospital.
The consumption of meat products and raw meat has also increased the resistance in human body as there is the high use of antibiotics in animal feed and fish.The lack of proper lab facilities and absence of right evaluation of a patient often lead to the prescription of the wrong antibiotic.
In some cases, drug resistance is not even identified. Despite the presence of labs in every nook and cranny in Kerala, their quality is not assured and they often employ only technicians.
A doctor’s presence is important in this case as only proper diagnosis can help in such situations.
Ernakulam district TB officer Sarath B Rao said it was quickly becoming a hurdle in the government’s plans to eradicate the disease. In the district alone, 28 cases of drug resistance were found so far this year.
Legislation mooted
The Central and state governments decided to shape a legislation to control the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Prolonging treatment and the possibility of the disease becoming mortal or lethal is high. In most cases, the drug resistance goes unidentified and the treatment gets delayed.
To this date, Kerala remains the only state which has a state antibiotic policy. “We’ve also taken steps to make physicians aware of the danger of indiscriminately prescribing antibiotics to patients,” said Dr Singh.Next month, six doctors from each district will be trained as part of the awareness programmes.
In a few months, there will be 39,000 doctors who will be well-informed about the possible problems antibiotics can cause and how to judiciously prescribe them.