Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said that sale of antibiotics without doctor’s prescription should be stopped and necessary restrictions should be imposed. “Antibiotics are available everywhere in Bangladesh, and the sale of such antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription must be stopped,” she said. The Prime Minister said this while Director of Biology Department of Ineos Institute of Antimicrobial Research, Oxford University, Prof Timothy E Walsh called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban. After the meeting, PM’s speech writer Md. Nazrul Islam briefed the reporters. The PM told the Oxford University researcher that once antibiotics were given from community clinics of the country, but now that has been stopped. “Now antibiotics are given from the public hospitals with prescriptions of physicians,” she said. Urging proper use of antibiotics, the Prime Minister said that efforts are being made to ensure that antibiotics are not sold everywhere in Bangladesh. Also Read: Bangladesh almost self-sufficient in treatment of heart diseases: PM Hasina Timothy E Walsh said that anti-microbial resistance (AMR) has become an epidemic in the world eight now. Noting that if it is not prevented now, it will take a more dire form in the future, he expressed fear that millions may die as a result. He praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's actions during her duties as co-chair of the Global Leaders Group on AMR.  At the meeting, the Prime Minister highlighted the various steps taken by the government for the overall development of the health sector, including the establishment of specialized hospitals and institutes such as National Institute of Ophthalmology, Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital, Cardiovascular Institute, and Neurosciences Hospital. Sheikh Hasina said her government has given special emphasis to research in various fields including agriculture, basic and medical science. She said that apart from providing scholarships for general students, fellowships are given in 200 higher education institutions, especially in PhD, post-doctoral and research fields. The Oxford University professor proposed to introduce Bangabandhu IOI Fellowship from Ineos Institute of Antimicrobial Research for Bangladeshi students for research in medical and basic sciences under the fellowship. In response, the Prime Minister gave her consent in-principle for the fellowship. In addition, Timothy E Walsh also proposed a partnership of the Bangladesh National Parliament on AMR with the Caucuses of the British Parliament and the Prime Minister gave her positive response.  

Medicine stores will not be allowed to sell antibiotics without prescriptions from physicians and if they do so, their licenses will be revoked, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said today. “The government is going to enact a new law to prevent misuse of antibiotics, and if any drug store sells antibiotics without prescription, its license will be revoked,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. Read: Policies must to stop misuse, overuse of antibiotics: Health Minister Terming misuse of antibiotics a “silent killer”, he said that every year, 15 lakh people around the world die due to excessive consumption of antibiotics and Bangladesh is also seeing a rise in its negative effects. Taking antibiotics without prescription has created negative impacts on public health, said the minister. Read: BSMMU VC warns against excessive use of antibiotics Besides, the presence of antibiotics was also found in fish and meat which is also a matter of grave concern, he added. He also stressed the need to create public awareness about the excessive use of antibiotics.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that the United Nations (UN) has urged its member states to formulate policies and laws so that excessive use of antibiotics can be prevented. The minister revealed the information during an exclusive interview with UNB, held at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, on Sunday. During the interview, the health minister informed that the issue of antibiotics use received special focus during the 77th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Read: Bangladesh makes progress in efforts to locally produce Covid-19 vaccines: Health Minister “This year, UNGA held three sessions on health, in which I had participated. The antibiotics issue, particularly resistance to antibiotics, was widely discussed during these sessions. Countries present during the sessions expressed great concern over the fact that people all over the world were often using antibiotics without prescriptions, and it was discovered that people from low and middle income countries were using antibiotics more than people from rich countries,” Zahid Maleque said. The minister added that one of the reasons why antibiotics use is so widespread is because a lot of medicines are sold over-the-counter. “Anyone can buy antibiotic medicine from the medicine stores directly, without showing any prescription. People are developing antibiotic resistance due to such overuse, which means antibiotics can’t cure the illness for which it is consumed. As a result, many people are dying around the world not from sickness, but from overusing drugs,” the minister commented. Read: First dose of Covid-19 vaccine won’t be administered after Oct 3: Health Minister Replying to a question, the minister said that Bangladesh’s healthcare system was praised during the UN session. “Our success in Covid-19 management has been lauded by all. Besides, the medicines we produce and export were also acclaimed. We screened a documentary in which we have highlighted our achievements in the health sector, which was well received. All in all, the response has been mostly positive,” Zahid Maleque said. Terming antibiotic resistance as a terrifying phenomenon, he added that the UN has emphasized the need for inventing new antibiotics that are more effective than the existing ones. Read “Won’t allow anyone to do business in the name of healthcare” “At the UN session, member states have been urged to provide healthcare services in proper ways. They have also been asked to ensure that no one can avail medicine like antibiotics without prescriptions. Most importantly, the countries present at the session have pledged to make sure that everyone gets treated by an expert doctor, and doesn’t consume drugs without sufficient reason,” the minister concluded.

A lack of new treatments for common infections has left people dangerously exposed to the “world’s most dangerous bacteria”, the UN health agency said on Thursday.  The alert from the World Health Organization (WHO) is delivered in a report showing that none of the 43 antibiotics in development today sufficiently addresses the growing threat posed by 13 priority drug-resistant bacteria.  “The persistent failure to develop, manufacture, and distribute effective new antibiotics is further fuelling the impact of antimicrobial resistance and threatens our ability to successfully treat bacterial infections,” said Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director General on antimicrobial resistance.  Those most at risk are young children and those living in poverty, but antibiotic-resistant infections can affect anyone, said WHO partner AMR.  Youngsters at risk  According to WHO, three in 10 newborns who develop blood infections die, because the antibiotics that are used to treat sepsis are no longer effective.  Bacterial pneumonia – another preventable illness which has developed resistance to available drugs – is also a major cause of childhood mortality among under-fives.  WHO’s annual Antibacterial Pipeline Report, notes that almost all antibiotics available today are variations of those discovered by the 1980s.   We rely hugely on them in all areas of our lives, from having a tooth out at the dentist, to organ transplants and cancer chemotherapy.  Unproductive pipeline   But after reviewing antibiotics that are in the clinical stages of testing, as well as those in development, the report highlighted a “near static pipeline” of production, which WHO’s Haileyesus Getahun likened to the “Achilles heel” of global health security.   “Opportunities emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic must be seized to bring to the forefront the needs for sustainable investments in research and development of new and effective antibiotics,” said Mr. Getahun, WHO Director of Antimicrobial Resistance Global Coordination.    “We need a global sustained effort including mechanisms for pooled funding and new and additional investments to meet the magnitude of the antimicrobial threat.”   Only a few drugs have been given early-stage approval by regulators in recent years “and most of these agents…offer limited clinical benefit over existing treatments, WHO said, with the warning that the “rapid emergence of drug-resistance to these new agents” was a certainty.  Fractional gains  This was despite the fact that “some promising products” were in different stages of development, as only a fraction of these will make it to market in a sector hampered by the small return on investment from successful antibiotic products, which has limited the interest of most large pharmaceutical companies.   “Overall, the clinical pipeline and recently approved antibiotics are insufficient to tackle the challenge of increasing emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance,” the UN agency concluded.  Driving research  To promote investment in antibiotics development, WHO and partner Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have set up the Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP) to develop innovative treatments.   The UN health agency has also been working closely with other non-profit funding partners such as the CARB-X to accelerate antibacterial research.  Another important new WHO-partnered initiative is the AMR Action Fund, that was set up by pharmaceutical companies, philanthropists and the European Investment Bank; its aim is to strengthen and accelerate antibiotic development through pooled funding.  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday sought  coordinated global action to monitor the nature of infections, implement the  required control measures and raise awareness against the widespread use of antibiotics.