This annual awareness week is organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The purpose of this awareness week is to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The more awareness that is raised regarding AMR, the more people will understand the effects of antibiotic resistance. With this, healthcare workers can help to avoid the further rise and spread of drug-resistant infections.
Causes and effects of drug resistance
The cause of antimicrobial resistance is when bacteria changes over time and no longer responds to medicines. This means that, by taking the medicine, the bacteria are not threatened by it. This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of disease spreading, severe illness and death. The bacteria are resistant to the antibiotics, meaning that infections become difficult or even impossible to treat.
The World Health Organisation consider antibiotic resistance to be a global health emergency as it is one of the biggest threats to health around the world. When antibiotics are overused or not taken properly, drug resistance is more likely to occur. Over time, antibiotics have been losing their effectiveness at an increasing rate. No new antibiotics have been created since the 1980’s.
With drug resistance rising, making antibiotics less effective, minor surgeries and routine operations can become more high-risk procedures if the infections can’t be treated. It’s predicted that over 3 million surgical operations and cancer treatments could become life threatening each year if antibiotics stop working effectively.
How do we prevent it?
Once a form of bacteria becomes resistant to the antibiotic, it cannot be reversed. To stop this happening, antibiotics need to be taken appropriately, or stop being overused.
The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) area are the highest prescriber of antibiotics in the nation. To fight against drug resistance, we need to change the way that we prescribe and use antibiotics.
There are many common conditions that can be managed and treated with good self-care and over the counter medicines. This can include having a sore throat, sinusitis and ear infections. Only 20% of sinusitis cases benefit from the treatment of antibiotics. and only 10% of sore throats. There is no need for the prescription rates for these to be as high as they are.
If adults who receive a course of antibiotics for a urinary tract infection or a respiratory tract infection get another infection within the following months, they are three times as likely of developing a drug-resistant infection. Urinary tract infections in older adults specifically need to be managed extra carefully to ensure antibiotics are prescribed and taken appropriately.
Dealing with anti-biotics
As a carer, it is vital that you ensure your service user completes their full course of antibiotics. Even if they feel better, don’t stop their course until its finished. It’s also important that infection prevention and control methods are also used to reduce the risk of acquiring infections, which in turn will reduce the number of antibiotic prescriptions.
Further training
Health Education England has an e-learning course available to those who want further training on antimicrobial resistance. This course will help you to further understand the threats we can face because of AMR and the way that you can help to tackle this health issue. If you would like to take part, please click the following link: www.elfh.org.uk/programmes/antimicrobial-resistance-and-infections/
