Context

• Madhya Pradesh has become the second state after Kerala to develop an action plan to manage antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• The government will carry out state- level AMR surveillance across all sectors including human health, animal husbandry, fisheries, environment, and food.
• The move will encourage other states to develop their own plans, which in turn, will help in tackling AMR on the national level.

About

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines AMR as “the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarial) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.”
• One of the sources of antibiotic resistance development is the presence of antibiotics in the environment, which generates foci of resistant bacteria through bacterial exposure to antibiotics.

Causes of AMR:

• Misuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, aquaculture, hospital effluents and antibiotic use in livestock and poultry contributes to AMR.
• Poor management of waste from farms, factories, healthcare settings and households adds to this problem.

Problems due to AMR:

• Antimicrobial resistance, for which Madhya Pradesh now has a plan, is a global environment and public health threat according to the WHO.
• The vast scale and diversity of the country in terms of population, food animal sectors (for instance, commercial and backyard farming), extent of antibiotic use adds to the challenges of addressing this multi-sectoral issue.

Impact of increasing AMR:

• With rising AMR, antibiotics are increasingly becoming ineffective for treating diseases in humans.
• If there is no timely containment, AMR is likely to cause nearly 10 million deaths by 2050 and result in significant global economic losses.
• It would impact nutrition security, livelihood and hinder the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Methods of controlling the spread of AMR:

• Tracking antibiotic use in humans, animals, fisheries, crops.
• Ensuring effective infection prevention and control in human and animal health, community and environment.
• Optimised use of antimicrobial agents in the health, animal and food sectors.
• Promoting investments for AMR activities, research and innovations for AMR containment.