Overuse of antibiotics can lead to resistance to bacteria and often new superbugs or microorganisms that spread new infections to patients. Its cases are increasing across the country. Due to this, the cost of treatment in the hospital is increasing tremendously. A study has claimed that due to anti-microbial resistance (AMR), the cost of treatment in government hospitals has increased by 40.4%.
The National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), a Pune-based laboratory of ICMR, has conducted this study on patients admitted in several hospitals. The study found that this led to a 40.4% increase in the cost of patients getting treatment in government hospitals. More or less the same situation has been found in private hospitals also. NARI’s senior scientist Dr. Megha Mamulwar told that this study is going to be published soon in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
He said that seven major hospitals of ICMR network were included in the study and this study was done during 2018-19 on the patients admitted there. He said that due to hospitalization, cases of antimicrobial resistant people are increasing due to which new pathogens and bugs are generated which infect patients. Due to these infections, patients have to be hospitalized for a long time. In addition to the disease being treated, additional drugs have to be given for the treatment of new infections.
Apart from this, the use of consumable medical equipment like masks, syringes etc. is also increasing. In estimating the cost of infected patients during the above period, it was found that the cost of treatment increased by 40.4%. Explain that antibiotics that kill bacteria that cause disease, sometimes the bacteria develop immunity against them. Not only this, some new micro-organisms arise from the bacteria and take the form of new superbugs.