Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a condition when the microbial pathogens become resistant to commonly used antibiotics (antimicrobials) thereby resulting in patients not responding to the treatment. AMR is one of the public health threats confronting the world. The issue was raised at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September 2016, where global leaders committed to fight AMR together.
A combination of factors, like rising incomes, unregulated access to antibiotics, over-the-counter (OTC) sale as well as sale without (or with invalid) prescription, along with perverse financial incentives for providers to prescribe antibiotics, often driven by patient expectations, have been suggested to be playing a major role in the emergence of AMR in India. Factors like the high burden of bacterial infections, currently existing sanitary and hygiene conditions, and the…
