Global push to phase out antibiotics aids India’s AMR battle | (कृषि-खाद्य क्षेत्रों में एंटीबायोटिक के उपयोग को चरणबद्ध तरीके से समाप्त करने का वैश्विक दबाव एएमआर के खिलाफ भारत की लड़ाई को कैसे बढ़ावा देगा )

Main Points In Hindi (मुख्य बातें – हिंदी में)

1. एंटीबायोटिक दवाओं का चरणबद्ध बंद होना: भारतीय वैज्ञानिक समुदाय ने वैश्विक नेताओं द्वारा कृषि और खाद्य उत्पादन में चिकित्सकीय रूप से महत्वपूर्ण एंटीबायोटिक दवाओं के उपयोग को चरणबद्ध तरीके से समाप्त करने के निर्णय की सराहना की है, जो भारत में बढ़ती रोगाणुरोधी प्रतिरोध (एएमआर) समस्या के समाधान में एक महत्वपूर्ण कदम है।

2. एएमआर का गंभीर स्वास्थ्य संकट: एंटीबायोटिक रेजिस्टेंस (एएमआर) एक गंभीर वैश्विक सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य समस्या है, जो तब उत्पन्न होती है जब रोगाणु दवाओं के प्रति संवेदनशील नहीं रहते। भारत में एएमआर से संबंधित मौतों की संख्या 2019 में 3 से 10.4 लाख तक पहुंच गई थी।

3. राष्ट्रीय एएमआर कार्य योजना का अभाव: भारत में एएमआर के खिलाफ समुचित एकीकृत दृष्टिकोण का अभाव है, और केवल कुछ राज्यों ने ही इस दिशा में कार्य योजना विकसित की है। उचित परीक्षण और पारदर्शिता की कमी के कारण एंटीबायोटिक संदूषण की समस्या भी बनी हुई है।

4. दुर्धर्ष चुनौतियां: भारत की स्थिति जटिल है, जहां एक ओर बड़ी आबादी के पास सस्ती एंटीबायोटिक दवाओं की कमी है, वहीं दूसरी ओर मानव स्वास्थ्य, खाद्य पशुओं और कृषि में इनका अति उपयोग और दुरुपयोग हो रहा है।

5. सुपरबग के नियंत्रण के लिए कदम उठाने का आग्रह: विशेषज्ञों ने सुझाव दिया कि भारत को एंटीबायोटिक के उपयोग को कम करने और कृषि-खाद्य प्रणालियों में रसायनों पर निर्भरता को घटाने के लिए ठोस लक्ष्यों के साथ कार्रवाई करनी चाहिए, ताकि एएमआर के खिलाफ लड़ाई को प्रभावी बनाया जा सके।

Main Points In English(मुख्य बातें – अंग्रेज़ी में)

Here are the main points from the article:

1. Global Consensus on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): The Indian scientific community has welcomed the recent agreement among global political leaders to gradually phase out the use of medically important antibiotics in agriculture and food production. This step is crucial for addressing India’s growing AMR issue.

2. Definition and Health Crisis: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi change over time and become resistant to commonly used medicines. This represents a serious global public health crisis.

3. UNGA Political Declaration: The decision was made during the second high-level meeting on AMR at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 26. It signifies a significant positive shift in addressing AMR within global agricultural and food systems compared to a previous declaration from 2016.

4. Rising Superbug Concerns in India: Despite having a national action plan on AMR in place since April 2017, India is witnessing a troubling rise in superbugs resistant to multiple antibiotics. Recent reports indicate that this resistance has led to an estimated 3 to 10.4 lakh deaths in India due to antibiotic-resistant superbugs in 2019 alone.

5. Need for Integrated Approach and Strong Regulations: There is a lack of an integrated approach to implement the national AMR action plan in India. Only a few states have developed action plans, and there are significant gaps in adherence to existing regulations regarding antibiotic residues in animal products, which contribute to the rise of AMR. Efforts must be made to set measurable targets and focus on sustainable agricultural practices to combat this crisis effectively.

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Complete News In Hindi(पूरी खबर – हिंदी में)

Complete News In English(पूरी खबर – अंग्रेज़ी में)

New Delhi:

The Indian scientific community has welcomed the recent agreement among global political leaders to gradually phase out the use of medically important antibiotics in agriculture and food production. For India, this is a significant step in addressing the country’s growing problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi evolve over time and become resistant to the common medicines used to treat them. This has become a serious global public health crisis.

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As part of the political declaration during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), this decision was implemented on September 26.

Quote from Expert:
Sunita Narain, the Director General of the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), based in New Delhi, noted in a statement that this declaration represents a significant positive shift in how the world is addressing AMR within agricultural food systems compared to the political declaration made in 2016.

India, as one of the signatory countries to the UN declaration, introduced its National Action Plan on AMR in April 2017, shortly after the first high-level meeting on AMR by the UN.

Despite having an existing action plan, there is a concerning increase in superbugs in India, which are pathogens resistant to many antibiotics and are extremely difficult to treat. An annual report indicated that this problem was observed in 21 major hospitals in the country between 2017 and 2023, as released last month by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Global research findings from the Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) project have revealed that between 300,000 and 1.04 million deaths were attributed to antibiotic-resistant superbugs in India in 2019, as reported in The Lancet last month. The GRAM project is a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

Quote from CSE Official:
Amit Khurana, the program director for sustainable food systems at CSE, stated via email to The Print that India is facing a dual challenge: a large section of the population lacks access to affordable antibiotics, while there is excessive use and misuse of these drugs in human health, food animals, and agriculture.

Lack of Integrated Approach in Implementing National AMR Action Plan

According to the 2024 Tracking AMR Country Self-Assessment Survey (TrACSS), despite the release of a guidance document in July 2018 for state action plans by the National Center for Disease Control, India has yet to fully implement actions against AMR at the regional level. Only three states—Delhi, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh—are developing action plans to address AMR.

The 2024 TrACSS also highlights the lack of a unified approach in executing India’s national AMR action plan. There is insufficient utilization of data and lessons from various sectors to enhance the plan’s implementation.

Khurana provided an example regarding antibiotic residues in animal products, emphasizing significant gaps at the implementation level, which are one of the major drivers of AMR. This is despite stringent standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for antibiotic residues in animal products.

Due to inadequate testing and transparency, there is very little public knowledge about whether products like eggs, meat, and milk meet these standards. Khurana noted that the National Milk Safety and Quality Survey in 2018 detected antibiotic contamination in several samples, but follow-up testing has been minimal, failing to assure consumers or prevent misuse by producers.

Khurana expressed deep concern about the absence of standard treatment guidelines for the use of antibiotics in animals, indicating that many lifesaving antibiotics essential for human health are still permitted to be included in animal feed in India.

He also highlighted the lack of regulations regarding the use of antibiotics in animal feeds, especially poultry feed, which is commonly treated with antibiotics. This is a major hurdle in controlling the rise of superbugs.

Khurana stressed the need to stop allowing antibiotics to be used as growth promoters, which is a major concern recognized by the recent UN political declaration on AMR.

He emphasized that India must take responsibility in combating AMR by setting concrete goals and focusing on prevention, which means gradually moving toward farming methods that do not rely on chemicals.

“Without measurable targets, just having a declaration isn’t sufficient. India should work towards reducing antibiotic use in agricultural food systems as promised in the UN political declaration and the 2022 Muscat Declaration, which aims for a 30-50% reduction in the use of antimicrobials in agricultural food systems by 2030, and to eliminate medically important antibiotics in animal and crop production,” Khurana stated.

(Edited by Radeefa Kabir)

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