Vaccines to prevent antimicrobial resistance: Accelerate trials for priority candidates, says WHO

Vaccines to prevent antimicrobial resistance: Accelerate trials for priority candidates, says WHO

Subject :Science and technology

Section: Biotechnology

Context:

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) has, for the first time, identified 61 vaccines in various stages of clinical development that will protect against infection caused by pathogens that have become resistant to antimicrobials

What are antimicrobials?

Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics – are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants

What is antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death

Why is antimicrobial resistance a global concern?

• The emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens that have acquired new resistance mechanisms, leading to antimicrobial resistance, continues to threaten our ability to treat common infections.
• Especially alarming is the rapid global spread of multi- and pan-resistant bacteria (also known as “superbugs”) that cause infections that are not treatable with existing antimicrobial medicines such as antibiotics

The Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS)

• WHO launched the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) in 2015 to continue filling knowledge gaps and to inform strategies at all levels.
• GLASS provides a standardized approach to the collection, analysis, interpretation and sharing of data by countries, territories and areas, and monitors the status of existing and new national surveillance systems, with emphasis on representativeness and quality of data collection.

India’s National Action Plan (NAP) for AMR was released in April 2017 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.