New Delhi. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has made a very shocking claim in its latest report which is also very worrying. ICMR says that antibiotics are not effective in treating some diseases like pneumonia, typhoid, blood infection and urinary tract infection (UTI). ICMR says that it is now becoming difficult to treat these diseases because common antibiotics are now ineffective on the bacteria that cause them.
The report has been prepared on the basis of data collected from several hospitals and medical clinics in the country. It includes reports of OPD patients, ward admissions and ICU between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023. The report tested antibiotics against bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. These gram-negative bacteria, which can cause infection in any part of the body, were found in samples from various parts of the body including blood, urine, respiratory tract infections.
ICMR has called for urgent action to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance in its annual report, urging strict control over antibiotic use. These fatal consequences have come to the fore due to the increasing trend of antibiotic use in the treatment of common diseases like fever and cold. Apart from this, ICMR also highlighted the misuse of antibiotics in agricultural crops. The report states that strong measures are needed to maintain the effectiveness of antibiotics essential for the health of both humans and animals. Let us tell you that a previous survey by the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Union Ministry of Health found that about half of the antibiotics prescribed in India are causing antimicrobial resistance.