Superbugs are here, and spreading fast

This means that patients may become resistant to drugs, and left without cures

The University of Melbourne’s most recent study on superbugs has alarmed hospitals worldwide, having discovered the newest superbug, Staphylococcus epidermidis, the first one so far that is resistant to all known drugs, spreading undetected across the globe. Found in human skin, researchers discovered three variants of the multi-drug resistant bug.

Strains of superbugs which are being discovered tend to mutate in hospitals with low-immunity patients and a large number of strong antibiotics in the area. When the bacteria comes in contact with an ill patient, the body is too weak to fight it, affecting one sick person at a time. Even the World Health Organisation has been talking about it. For India, this is a serious problem. The country has among the highest rates of unapproved drugs sold, many of which are over-the-counter drugs, and an indiscriminate use of antibiotics, making it difficult to assess, control and limit Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR). Doctors prescribing improper medication also contribute to the rise of superbugs. Many drugs, not approved by the national drug regulator, continue to be sold mostly to those who are too poor or too desperate for an alternative.

In a report in HT in July 2017, India has already begun its efforts through a National Action Plan on AMR, on how to combat drug resistance. Even the Indian Council of Medical Research has issued guidelines to standardise antibiotic use, in 2017. But the problem lies in the urgency of this plan to reach the ground. The process might work better to move from a trickledown system to one that starts from the ground, and moves up. Even Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin warned against the indiscriminate use of the antibiotic, because the body will eventually begin to resist it. It might soon be difficult to cure even minor illnesses and we can’t say that we weren’t warned.