Antibiotic resistance a silent epidemic: experts

Experts at a symposium at Chittagong University (CU) yesterday (Wednesday) emphasised on collaborative efforts, informed strategies and innovative approaches to combat antibiotic resistance which has become a silent epidemic.

Both inadequate and over-usage of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, which is causing 1.27 million deaths annually, they said.

They were addressing a daylong symposium titled "Navigating the Path to Antimicrobial Stewardship: Strategies, Challenges, and Collaboration Solutions."

Department of Microbiology at University of Chittagong in collaboration with Bangladesh Society of Microbiologists (BSM) organised the symposium on April 24.

BSM President Dr Munirul Alam, also a senior scientist at icddr,b in his keynote speech informed that antibiotic resistance causes death of 1.27 million people annually and this number may reach 10 million per year by 2050.

The symposium aimed to address the pressing issues surrounding antimicrobial stewardship and to foster collaboration among professionals in the field.

Muhammad Manjurul Karim, professor of the Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka; Avijit Datta, assistant professor of Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) and Jannatul Ferdous, research fellow at BCSIR Chittagong gave presentations at the event.

CU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Abu Taher was chief guest at the symposium chaired by Professor Sharmin Sultana, chairman of Department of Microbiology, CU.

The symposium identified several issues that are destroying efficacy of first-line antibiotics -- including inadequate treatment with multiple drug regimens, over-prescription, unnecessary or incorrect prescription by doctors, non-compliance of patient to a treatment regimen, lack of supervised treatment, overuse of antibiotics in agriculture applications, release of antibiotics into the environment, substandard quality of drugs provided, and limited or interrupted drug supply.