Weekly Digest: U.S. Congress allocates $375 million to combating antibiotic resistance in 2016

Combination antibiotics (two antibiotics in one pill) that have not been approved by Indian or U.S. authorities are becoming more common in India—and are probably contributing to antibiotic resistance. A Reuters investigation found that Abbott Pharmaceuticals has been selling Ziminic X, which contains both cefixime and azithromycin, around the country, despite the fact that the central government has not approved it for use. CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan warned that dangerous strains of bacteria resistant to both antibiotics could develop as a result of widespread use. [Reuters]

You can’t buy antibiotics over the counter in the United States, can you? (Yes, and you can buy them online.) In fact, according to the FDA report issued last week on agricultural antibiotic use, the vast majority—more than 98 percent—of antibiotics used in animals, including those important for human medicine, are sold over the counter. National Geographic contributor Maryn McKenna, who joined CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan on Minnesota Public Radio News last week, posted a 2-pound bag of veterinary chlortetracycline she bought online recently, with no prescription. [MPR News with Kerri Miller, National Geographic]

The newly approved U.S. federal budget has allocated an additional $375 million for combating antibiotic resistance in 2016. Several federal agencies are slated to receive shares.  CDC gets $160 million to bolster prevention and monitoring of superbug outbreaks through state and local health departments; NIH has been allocated $100 million for continued research; BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, will receive $96 million to discover new therapies and diagnostic tools; and the rest will be distributed in smaller amounts to other agencies, including FDA and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The increase nearly doubles the 2016 allocation for antibiotic resistance, to $774 million. [The Washington Post, Science News]

Malaria—the common enemy—brings political factions together in Myanmar.  Myaing Myaing Nyunt and Christopher Plowe, Professors at the University of Maryland, describe this “disease diplomacy” in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. Leaders who had never before collaborated on any issue are working together on plans to combat malaria in Myanmar. Observe Nyunt and Plowe, “On its own, Myanmar’s coalition against malaria won’t solve the country’s political and social issues. But there is no question that this alliance already has been a catalyst for more dialogue, reconciliation and social change.” [Los Angeles Times]

Just 43 percent of U.S. hospitals—and 1.3 percent of Veterans Affairs hospitals—require all of their workers to get seasonal flu vaccine. The top reasons hospitals gave for not mandating vaccination for all workers were staff opposition and employee unions. The lead authors of the research, published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, also wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal contending that the VA needs to save lives by implementing their goal of required vaccination by 2020. Said senior author Sanjay Saint, “To put it bluntly, American hospitals have a lot of work to do.” [Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, Wall Street Journal, Science Daily]

Veterinarians who have visited swine farms have a higher risk of colonization with livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA), writes a group of researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Germany in correspondence published this week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The authors conducted a study in 2008 and 2009 of nearly 700 veterinarians, and found an association between working with swine and nasal colonization with LA-MRSA. [Clinical Infectious Diseases]

Hospital antibiotic prescriptions rose significantly in England between 2011 and 2014, according to research published in BMJ. The number of prescriptions written by general practice physicians (i.e., outpatient prescriptions), who account for 74 percent of all prescriptions written, has declined during the same time period. Overall consumption, combining inpatient and outpatient settings, rose 6.5 percent—from 21.6 defined daily doses (DDD) per 1000 people in 2011 to 23.0 in 2014. (BMJ)

Pharmaceutical company Novartis is piloting a program in Kenya to distribute chronic illness medications for $1 per treatment per month. Novartis is providing access to 15 significantly discounted patented and generic medicines for four noncommunicable diseases—diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer—and conducting on-site education on the causes and effects of the conditions. The program, which the company hopes to expand to 30 countries, began in Kenya in October and is expected to launch in Ethiopia and Vietnam sometime in 2016. [Take Part]

Papa John’s Pizza is the latest U.S. restaurant chain to announce it will phase out use of medically important antibiotics in its chicken products. The company announced that it plans to only serve antibiotic-free chicken with pizza and chicken poppers by summer 2016. [Food Safety News]