World is running out of antibiotics: WHO

Drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are mostly the modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions

GN Bureau | September 20, 2017


#World Health Organisation   #WHO   #Health   #Antibiotics  
Representational image
Representational image

There is going to be a huge lack of new antibiotics in coming future. A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that there is “a serious lack of new antibiotics under development to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.”

The report called Antibacterial agents in clinical development – an analysis of the antibacterial clinical development pipeline, including tuberculosis was released on Wednesday.

According to the report, drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are mostly the modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions. The report found very few potential treatment options for those antibiotic-resistant infections identified by WHO as posing the greatest threat to health, including drug-resistant tuberculosis which kills around 250 000 people each year.

Director general, WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has termed antimicrobial resistance as a global health emergency. "There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives from minor surgery,” he said in an official statement.

WHO has identified 12 classes of priority pathogens, some of them causing common infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections, that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics and urgently in need of new treatments.

“There is a serious lack of treatment options for multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant M. tuberculosis and gram-negative pathogens, including Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae (such as Klebsiella and E.coli) which can cause severe and often deadly infections that pose a particular threat in hospitals and nursing homes,” the report said.

"Pharmaceutical companies and researchers must urgently focus on new antibiotics against certain types of extremely serious infections that can kill patients in a matter of days because we have no line of defence," says Dr Suzanne Hill, Director of the Department of Essential Medicines at WHO.

Comments

 

Other News

Understanding Bharat’s history from its own perspective

Eminent Distorians: Twists and Truths in Bharat`s History By Utpal Kumar BluOne Ink, 334 pages

‘MAGA’ + ‘MIGA’ = ‘MEGA’ partnership for prosperity: Modi

Prime minister Narendra Modi has linked the dream of a Viksit Bharat with US president Donald Trump’s slogan, ‘Make America Great Again’, or ‘MAGA’, saying that when these two democracies work together, i.e. ‘MAGA’ plus ‘Make India Great Again’ (‘

ONOE: Anti-federalism or pro-reform?

The government`s move to implement ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) has ignited widespread debate. On one hand, it offers tangible benefits, such as removing the possibility of a governance paralysis and reducing election costs. On the other hand, the opposition and sections of civil society s

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana completes first year

On February 13, 2025, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY) will mark its first anniversary, celebrating a year of empowering households with affordable solar energy and accelerating India’s transition to a sustainable future. Launched by prime minister Narendra Modi on Febru

How to leverage AI to solve urgent global issues

The world seems to be hurling towards World War III in all the possible scenarios: hot war, cold war, and proxy war. The battleground seems to have expanded beyond physical to digital or virtual/mixed reality with technology like drones. Moreover, the line between civilian and military targets seems to hav

Budget: Progress towards SDGs and areas for improvement

The Union Budget 2025-26 outlines India`s vision for economic and social growth while also reflecting the country`s commitment to sustainable development. As India moves closer to the 2030 deadline for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this budget presents a balanced approach

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter