Regulatory gaps and unchecked over-the-counter sale of veterinary drugs facilitating the overuse and indiscriminate usage of antibiotics in the animal husbandry sector without proper veterinary oversight are causing emergence of resistant bacteria in animals and potentially transferring to humans through the food chain or environmental contamination, the Indian Medical Association has warned.
To address these concerns, the IMA has urged the government to strengthen regulatory controls over antibiotic production and disposal. This could include implementing stricter guidelines for pharmaceutical companies regarding waste management and disposal practices, as well as increasing monitoring and enforcement efforts to ensure compliance.
Furthermore, the IMA has advocated for restrictions on the OTC sale of veterinary drugs to curb the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture. By requiring veterinary prescriptions for antibiotic use in animals and enforcing regulations on the sale and distribution of veterinary drugs, the government can help mitigate the development and spread of AMR in both animal and human populations, it said.
On its part, it urged the Centre to utilize the all India network of the association to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the growing threat to human health in the years to come, IMA said in a letter to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Dr RV Asokhan, national president of the IMA and its general secretary, Dr. Ajay Kumar J Nayak said that for an effective control of AMR across different sectors in India, a ‘One-Health Nodal Centre’ should be established that would enhance inter-sectoral coordination.
The leaders of the medical professionals’ national body said they have brought out a Health Manifesto for 2024 which gives suggestions and recommendations to the government for the health issues facing the country today. The medical professionals feel that among measures to effectively tackle the growing menace a National Action Plan and a funding strategy is required. In the present scenario, there is a lack of separate financial allocations for AMR initiatives across different states in the country and this always becomes a significant barrier to achieving national progress in combating AMR.
In addition, IMA finds that there is limited access to affordable, high-quality antibiotics and diagnostic tools in rural and marginalized communities in India and it impedes effective treatment and AMR management.
Further, India faces an absence of a robust AMR surveillance system due to weak laboratory capacity, lack of health information systems, quality assurance gaps, shortage of skilled personnel and limited resources. These factors also affect the control of the AMR, said the IMA.
Microorganisms that develop resistance to commonly used antimicrobials are referred to as superbugs. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released in 2023 the flagship report Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening environmental action in the ‘One Health’ response to antimicrobial resistance to highlight the threat and prevention measures.
