{"id":164077,"date":"2025-05-01T19:14:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T13:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&p=164077"},"modified":"2025-05-01T19:14:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T13:44:51","slug":"lack-of-access-to-appropriate-antibiotics","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/lack-of-access-to-appropriate-antibiotics","title":{"rendered":"Lack of Access to Appropriate Antibiotics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A study published in <\/span><b><i>The Lancet Infectious Diseases<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> revealed that<\/span><b> only 7.8% of patients with drug-resistant infections in India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> received appropriate antibiotics, compared to an average of 6.9% across eight <\/span><b>low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>The study examined 1.5 million cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of <\/span><b>carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> infections in countries including <\/span><b>India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, and South Africa.<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.5992%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #000000;\"><b>About Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> infections are caused by bacteria that are <\/span><b>resistant to carbapenems,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a class of<\/span><b> last-resort antibiotics.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These infections are<\/span><b> extremely difficult to treat, leading to high mortality rates, prolonged hospital stays<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and increased healthcare costs.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can only be treated using<\/span><b> newer generation antibiotics <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">such as <\/span><b>ceftazidime-avibactam, colistin, tigecycline, and fosfomycin.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Key Highlights of Study<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conducted by:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Objective: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To identify barriers from health facility presentation to diagnostic testing and access to effective treatment.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It used data from <\/span><b>The Lancet\u2019s Global Burden of AMR (GRAM) study<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><b> IQVIA , 2019.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Data Base<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The research assessed data from <\/span><b>eight populous low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, and South Africa.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High Burden in India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: In 2019, India recorded nearly <\/span><b>10 lakh carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) infections<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but less than 1 lakh patients received appropriate treatment.It also found that <\/span><b>only<\/b> <b>7.8% of patients in India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with<\/span><b> CRGN infections <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">received appropriate antibiotics<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study estimates around <\/span><b>3.5 lakh deaths in India <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">due to inadequate treatment of these infections.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-164065\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/11-6813731fb0870.webp\" alt=\"Antibiotics\" width=\"700\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/11-6813731fb0870.webp 1162w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/11-6813731fb0870-300x118.webp 300w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/11-6813731fb0870-1024x403.webp 1024w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/11-6813731fb0870-768x302.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Challenges Regarding Access to Antibiotics<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Paradoxical challenge: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Country like India faces paradoxical challenges of<\/span><b> irrational overuse of high-end antibiotics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on one hand, and <\/span><b>limited access to them for those in genuine need<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the other.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6994%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>PWOnlyIAS Extra Edge<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Working Group 4 (WG4)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The NMP is composed of <\/span><b>four time-limited working groups (WGs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> following the themes of <\/span><b>transparency, solidarity, sustainability <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>novel antimicrobials<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Supply Chain Issues<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Access is hindered due to intermittent shortages when<\/span><b> demand outpaces supply <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>Marketing Authorisation Holder (MAH) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">withdrawal of <\/span><b>antimicrobials from markets<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for economic reasons, especially in LMICs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Lack of Infrastructure: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many patients are <\/span><b>not diagnosed properly due to underdeveloped lab infrastructure <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>lack of awareness<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, leading to<\/span><b> delays or absence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of appropriate treatment initiation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>PolicyGaps: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weak antibiotic stewardship programmes and absence of effective regulatory guardrails contribute to both misuse and access failures, <\/span><b>aggravating antimicrobial resistance (AMR).<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Global Initiatives to Improve Access to Antibiotics<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>WHO Novel Medicines Platform (NMP): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launched in<\/span><b> April 2024, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the NMP aims to ensure sustainable innovation of <\/span><b>novel antibiotics and enhance access to existing ones.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Working Group 4 (WG4): NMP\u2019s WG4\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plans to develop multistakeholder proposals to improve antibiotic access, focusing on regulatory, financial, and supply chain solutions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>SECURE Global Initiative<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: SECURE, developed by<\/span><b> WHO and GARDP<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with <\/span><b>UNICEF and CHAI,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> aims<\/span><b> to expand antibiotic access for LMICs,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ensuring rational and equitable use of antimicrobials.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"vc_button\"><b>Additional Reading: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/antimicrobial-resistance-amr-2\/#:~:text=About%20Antimicrobial%20Resistance%20(AMR),spread%2C%20severe%20illness%20and%20death.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>AMR<\/b><\/a><\/span>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; 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