Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the World Health Organisation has identified twelve deadly drug resistant bacteria;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps being taken by the Government for protection against the said bacteria?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)
(a) & (b): Yes, World Health Organization has identified deadly drug resistant bacteria. WHO priority pathogens are Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella spp., 3rd generation cephalosporin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, penicillin-non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae, etc.
(c): To address the problem of growing Antimicrobial Resistance, Government of India has launched the ‘National Programme on Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance’ under the 12th Five Year Plan with National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) as the coordinating centre.
Under the programme, following activities are being conducted:
• National treatment guidelines for antimicrobial use in infectious diseases have been released to promote rational use of antimicrobials and disseminated for use throughout the country.
• Infection control guidelines have been prepared and are available for use in health care facilities.
Contd…….
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• At present 10 Network labs have already been involved in this programme for AMR Surveillance, and surveillance activity has been initiated at these sites and AMR trends are being analyzed.
• IEC activities for creating awareness in community and among medical practitioners for right use of antimicrobial drugs are being paneed.
Further, The Schedule H1 notification of the Government of India on Aug 30, 2013, as an amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945, came into force from Mar 1, 2014 to control the overuse of 24 antibiotics and other drugs through over-the counter sale without prescription at the pharmacies all over the country. Schedule H1 warning printed on the label in a box with red border and the Rx symbol in red. They can be sold by pharmaceutical chemists only on production of a valid prescription by registered medical practitioner.
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