Highlights
- WHO published the
first-ever list of antibiotic-resistant pathogens
- It included 12
families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat
- The most critical group of all includes multi-drug resistant bacteria
There are all sorts of diseases in the world, and
every once in a while comes a certain 'microorganism' which creates havoc in
the form of dangerous diseases like Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and the like.
Scientists have time and again come up with effective antibiotics to control
the diseases and save lives, but the shocking part is that each year these
microbes come back twice as more potent and resistant to the antibiotics. As
such it is a constant struggle to reinvent and find effective cures. In such
cases, intensive research is the only thing that can save lives as scientists
discover more characteristics and behaviour of the triggers.
Recently, WHO published the first-ever list of antibiotic-resistant "priority pathogens" that
included 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health.
The intention was to spread awareness, as well as guide and promote research
and development of new antibiotics. There is a serious concern on the growing
global resistance to antimicrobial medicines.
What Did the List Include?
According to the global health body, the list is
divided into three categories according to the urgency of need for new
antibiotics: critical, high and medium priority.
"The most critical group of all includes
multi-drug resistant bacteria that pose a particular threat in hospitals,
nursing homes, and among patients whose care requires devices such as
ventilators and blood catheters. They include Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and
various Enterobacteriaceae (including Klebsiella, E. coli, Serratia, and
Proteus)," said a WHO statement.
It said that all the bacteria can cause severe and
often deadly infections such as bloodstream infections and pneumonia.
"These bacteria have become resistant to a
large number of antibiotics, including carbapenems and third generation
cephalosporins - the best available antibiotics for treating multi-drug
resistant bacteria," said the report.
High- Medium Priority Type
The second tier includes antibiotics of high
priority - for Enterococcus faecium, which is vancomycin-resistant;
Staphylococcus aureus, which is methicillin-resistant; Helicobacter pylori,
which is clarithromycin-resistant; Campylobacter spp, which is
fluoroquinolone-resistant; Salmonellae, which is fluoroquinolone-resistant; and
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which is cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone-resistant.
The third tier includes medium priority antibiotics
for Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is penicillin-non-susceptible; Haemophilus
influenzae, which is ampicillin-resistant; and Shigella spp, which is fluoroquinolone-resistant.
"This list is a new tool to ensure research and
development responds to urgent public health needs," said WHO's Assistant
Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation Marie-Paule Kieny in the
statement.
Evelina Tacconelli, Head of the Division of
Infectious Diseases at the University of Tubingen and a major contributor to
the list, said, "New antibiotics targeting this priority list of pathogens
will help to reduce deaths due to resistant infections around the world.
"Waiting any longer will cause further public
health problems and dramatically impact on patient care."
Inputs from IANS
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