Antibiotics are fighting a losing battle against diseases
WHO warns that potentially fatal bacteria are evolving quicker than treatment
Only eight of more than 50 antibiotics being developed are considered effective in fighting the rising tide of drug-resistant infections, as the world is at risk of running out of treatments.
A new report by the World Health Organisation into global antibacterial development shows a scarcity of new treatment options for antibiotic-resistant infections poses the greatest risks to health.
One of those is drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills about 250,000 people a year.
The report identified 51 antibiotics and biologicals under development to treat tuberculosis, antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and the diarrhoeal infection C difficile.
Further concerns were raised about the lack of oral antibiotics, regarded as crucial for treating infections outside hospitals or where resources are limited.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency that will seriously jeopardise progress in modern medicine,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director general.
“There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives when facing minor surgery.”
The WHO has identified 12 classes of priority pathogens that are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs. Some of them cause common conditions such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections.
It said there was a growing concern about a lack of effective options for doctors to control outbreaks of potentially deadly infections of Klebsiella and E coli, particularly in hospitals and nursing homes.
“Pharmaceutical companies and researchers must urgently focus on developing new antibiotics against certain types of the extremely serious infections that can kill patients in a matter of days, because we have no line of defence,” said Dr Suzanne Hill, director of the WHO’s department of essential medicines.
The WHO is also developing guidelines for responsible use of antibiotics for humans, animals and in agriculture, and infection prevention control.
More than €56 million (Dh245.5m) has been pledged by Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the Wellcome Trust to counter the threat.
The fund will contribute to further work by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, set up by the WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative.
“Research for tuberculosis is seriously underfunded, with only two new antibiotics for treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis having reached the market in over 70 years,” said Dr Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO global tuberculosis programme.
“If we are to end tuberculosis, more than US$800m [Dh2.94 billion] a year is urgently needed to fund research for new anti-tuberculosis medicines.”
A pharmaceutical-economic forum hosted by the Ministry of Health and Prevention with leaders from the GCC will take place in Dubai on September 28 and 29, where drug pricing and the latest developments for the region will be discussed.
One of those is drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills about 250,000 people a year