Clear & present danger: Indians most antibiotic-resistant

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

India has reported the highest rate of antibiotic resistant bacteria in 40 countries surveyed over the last year to study the prevalence of resistant organisms due to excessive and inappropriate drug use.

India has also emerged as the top antibiotic user in the world, consuming 13 billion standard units of antibiotics in a given year as against corresponding figures of 10 billion and seven billion in China and the US, , respectively, the next highest antibiotic consumers.

These findings are part of The State of the World’s Antibiotics Report 2015 made public today to raise alarm over the emerging threat of medicine resistant microbes that are resulting in infections difficult and expensive to treat.

Evidence from India is alarming considering it is the only country among 40 where antibiotic consumption trend is increasing. “India has the highest rates of antibiotic resistant organisms. Antibiotic use among animals in India is growing more rapidly than among humans. All meat being consumed has been fed antibiotics in the absence of regulations to check antibiotic use for raising food producing animals. Non-vegetarians need to watch out,” Prof Ramanan Laxminarayanan, one among seven authors of the report told The Tribune.

Evidence points out that by 2030, India would be among the global top three consumers of antibiotics in livestock as the demand for animal protein grows.

“Consumption of antibiotics in livestock in the entire BRICS region is projected to double by 2030 as their population increases by 13 per cent. Global antibiotic consumption in livestock was estimated at 63, 200 tonne in 2010, accounting for around two-thirds of the estimated 1 lakh tonne antibiotics produced worldwide annually. By 2030, this consumption is projected to rise further by two-thirds to around 1.05 lakh tonne,” states the report published jointly by The Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) and The Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, US.