How do we win the battle against AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance)? It will take concerted and committed effort but it is doable. AMR is a global issue and it requires worldwide input to resolve it.
According to the World Health Organization,
“To date, 25 high-income, 20 middle-income and 7 low-income countries are enrolled in WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System (GLASS). For the first report, 40 countries provided information on national surveillance systems with 22 also providing data on antibiotic resistance levels.” The quality and completeness of data in this first GLASS report vary widely. Some countries face major challenges in building their national surveillance systems, including a lack of personnel, funds and infrastructure.
“WHO is encouraging all countries to set up good surveillance systems for detecting drug resistance that can provide data to this global system,”
“The report is a vital first step towards improving our understanding of the extent of antimicrobial resistance. Surveillance is in its infancy, but it is vital to develop it if we are to anticipate and tackle one of the biggest threats to global public health,” explained Dr. Carmem Pessoa-Silva, WHO surveillance system coordinator.
WHO is supporting countries in setting up national antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems to produce reliable, meaningful data, with GLASS helping to standardize data collection for a more complete picture of patterns and trends.
Solid drug resistance surveillance programmes in tuberculosis, HIV and malaria have been functioning for years – estimating disease burden, planning diagnostic and treatment services, monitoring control interventions effectiveness and designing effective treatment regimens to address and prevent future resistance. GLASS is expected to perform a similar function for common bacterial pathogens.
Via UN News Centre