Combat Drug Resistance: No Action today, no cure tomorrow
World Health Organization has selected a new theme this year for World Health Day April 7, 2011) WHO has selected Antimicrobial resistance over a more headline grabbing topic such as HIV/AIDS. Why? Antimicrobial resistance threatens the viability of medications that have prevented cases of serious diseases such as HIV/AIDS from becoming death sentences in the recent years.
As a part of the national campaign that the World Health Organization is launching
later this week, they outline a number of ways that you can make a difference
in your everyday life.
Antimicrobial resistance is resistance of microorganism to an antimicrobial medicine to which it was previously sensitive. Bacteria, viruses, and some types of parasites are able to withstand the attack by antibiotics so that normal treatments become ineffective.
AMR is typically a consequence of the misuse of antimicrobial medications, leading the organism to develop a resistance.
Some critics may ask why AMR is a global concern, and why might it be a more pressing topic than HIV/AIDS? According to WHO, “infections caused by resistant microorganisms often fail to respond to the standard treatment, resulting in prolonged illness and greater risk of death.”
More importantly, “AMR threatens a return to the pre-antibiotic era, may infections diseases risk becoming uncontrollable and could derail the progress made towards reaching the targets of the health-related UN Millennium Development Goals set for
2015.”
Many people wonder what they can do to help stop the advancement of AMR.
WHO advises you to be sure to avoid the irrational use of medications. Audrey McLaughlin, RN and distributor for NTX Medical, adds “people come to my clients clinics demanding antibiotics for every ailment, when many times viruses are the cause
and antibiotics offer no help. When you are prescribed antibiotics, it is important to finish the prescribed course of medication to prevent a resistant strand from developing.”
On a larger scale, businesses, hospitals and clinics can offer everyday assistance in the fight against AMR, by using proper infection control and prevention practices. For instance, they can utilize cleaning supplies that offer mechanical instead of chemical defenses against microorganisms.
“There is an assumption out there that cleaning with bleach is the way to go, but there are great products on the market out there that not only kill the bacteria and viruses on
surfaces but provide lasting protection for 20-30 days at a time” offers McLaughlin, “this can be especially important for businesses, health care centers, clinics, schools,
etc.”
World Health Day is approaching fast and it is more important than ever to help fight AMR, and by doing so you are laying the groundwork for maintaining the precious research we have accomplished towards seemingly larger scale disease.
Audrey McLaughlin, RN, is President of NTX Medical Sales. NTX
Medical Sales was founded in 2009 and provides consumers and businesses with
medical and surgical supplies. One of our flagship products, Monofoil, is a green way to “redefine clean” protecting porous and non porous surfaces for up to 30 days of antimicrobial protection with just one wipe.