March 07, 2014
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan is quoted in an article underscoring the threat of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in India, saying that the country s national TB program is stuck in the 1990s. [IPS News]
The US s proposed budget for 2015 has increased funding to combat antibiotic resistance and promote global health security. According to the proposed budget, the CDC s Detect and Protect Against Antibiotic Resistance initiative will receive an additional $30 million for enhancing surveillance and laboratory capacity, the FDA will receive an additional $29 million for an integrated monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will be able to spend $79 million on its Broad Spectrum Antimicrobials program. The proposed budget also includes an extra $45 million in spending for CDC activities to promote global health security and $44 million for CDC initiatives to prevent healthcare-associated infections. These increases follow the recent State of the Union Address by President Obama in which he talked about the need to address the threat of drug-resistant bacteria. [USA Today, Washington Post]
In US hospitals, prescribing practices vary and inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is a frequent occurrence, according to the CDC s recent Vital Signs report. The report suggests that improving antibiotic prescribing could reduce potential harm and risk for antibiotic resistance. [CDC, Washington Post]
Authors of a new paper published in Emerging Infectious Diseases argue that improving or establishing much-needed surveillance of antimicrobial drug resistance in under-resourced countries is a feasible goal. They also propose a global initiative to strengthen antimicrobial resistance surveillance in such countries and recommend that the proposed initiative join efforts with programs like the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership, [a CDDEP project] which develops actionable policy proposals on antibiotic resistance for low- and middle-income countries. [CDC]
After rapid increases in inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics and other drugs, India had introduced amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 by including Schedule H1, a new provision to limit irrational drug use by requiring prescriptions for certain drugs. The sales restrictions were officially introduced on March 1; along with these restrictions, drugs containing substances specified in Schedule H1 will also now be required to include warnings. [Times of India]
In order to tackle the threat of antibiotic resistance, several US health organizations and health experts are urging Congress to add labels to certain antibiotics to serve as a reminder to healthcare professionals that these medications “are approved for a select group of patients and must be prescribed appropriately and with caution. [HealthDay]
A new report in the Canadian Veterinary Journal highlights Canada s lack of progress in regulating antibiotic use in animals. The report awarded a grade of D for Canada s regulatory efforts and a grade of C for the country s work on creating a national system to monitor antibiotic use in animals. [The Globe and Mail]
A report in Nature Nanotechnology discusses the development of nano-levers that can be used as sensors to measure the concentration and effectiveness of antibiotics in blood. These could help determine the best antibiotic dosages for different individuals and different infections”. [Futurity]
After discovering and reviving a new virus that had been frozen in 30,000-year-old permafrost, scientists from the National Center for Scientific Research at the University of Aix-Marseille in France are highlighting a new danger of global warming: the reemergence of long-dead pathogens. [New York Times, CBC Canada]
New research published in the journal Science suggests that global warming will increase the incidence of malaria, especially in tropical highlands, where malaria currently is much less common. The authors, who found that malaria incidence in tropical highlands increases during warmer years and recedes during cooler years, emphasize the need for sustained intervention efforts in these regions, especially in Africa to stop the spread of malaria as the planet warms. [Time]
Another study published in the journal Global Change Biology also predicts that global warming might also increase the incidence of the mosquito-borne West Nile and help spread the virus to northern territories in North America that haven t yet been affected. [Time]
Stethoscope contamination may happen after each incidence of patient contact; therefore, disinfecting stethoscopes after each use is necessary to prevent healthcare-associated infections, according to a new study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The article also writes that most surveys show that the majority of physicians and nurses do not disinfect their stethoscopes frequently less than once a month, if ever. [Healthline]
A new study in the journal Pediatrics finds that downward trends in outpatient antibiotic prescribing rates for children may have plateaued, making it important to identify best practices in low-prescribing areas and to decrease the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for particular conditions. [Pediatrics]
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