According to the latest report of ICMR's Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network, common antibiotics are no longer effective on diseases like urinary tract infections, blood infections, pneumonia and typhoid.

Antimicrobial resistance is increasing rapidly in India, making it difficult to treat serious diseases. According to the latest report of the Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (AMRSN) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), common antibiotics are no longer effective on diseases like urinary tract infection (UTI), blood infection, pneumonia and typhoid.

The seventh annual report released by ICMR stated that many common antibiotics (such as cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin) and levofloxacin are less than 20% effective against E.coli bacteria found in ICU and OPD patients. This bacteria causes infections in various body parts such as urine, blood, and respiratory tract. Similarly, bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have also developed resistance to important antibiotics such as piperacillin-tazobactam, imipenem, and meropenem.

According to the report, the effectiveness of many antibiotics has declined over time. For example, the effectiveness of piperacillin-tazobactam has dropped from 56.8% in 2017 to only 42.4% in 2023. Even commonly used drugs such as amikacin and meropenem are no longer proving to be completely effective.

Alarming rise and concern over antibiotic use

Gram-negative bacteria, which can cause infections in any part of the body, are among the most commonly found pathogens in India. Moreover, Salmonella typhi bacteria, which causes diseases such as diarrhea and gastroenteritis, have developed more than 95% resistance to fluoroquinolones antibiotics, making treatment of typhoid difficult.

The report states that there is a need for strict control on the use of antibiotics to prevent the problem of antimicrobial resistance. Also, it has been recommended to keep the unnecessary use of these drugs in agriculture under strict monitoring. This will ensure that antibiotics are used properly and serious problems like antibiotic resistance can be dealt with. This ICMR report also points to the increasing misuse of antibiotic use in the country, which is not only causing problems in the treatment of patients but can also cause serious health problems in the future.