ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: What Everyone Should Know

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major threat to human health around the world. There are an estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with AMR annually. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists AMR among the top 10 threats for global health.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites do not respond to medicines, leading to infections becoming difficult or impossible to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death. It’s a major threat to modern medicine. But if we act now, we can still keep our life-saving medicines working, says the WHO.

Here are 3 important things you can do to prevent the spread of AMR (source: HealthyMePa):

> STAY the course. Take your antibiotic medication for the entire length of time prescribed by your doctor. Don’t stop just because your symptoms have subsided.

> DON’T build a stockpile. Don’t save antibiotics for later “just in case” – take them only during the recommended time frame. Safely dispose of excess medication.

> KNOW what antibiotics cannot cure. Antibiotics will help only in the case of a bacterial infection. They will not help to cure a virus, and they could hurt you by causing your body to build its antibiotic immunity. Viral infections include: ear infections, sinus infections, coughs/bronchitis, common colds and sore throats.