Join Indian initiative for management of antibiotic resistance (IIMAR)

To join visit http://save-antibiotics.blogspot.com/ . Donations, Abstracts of papers or other related information, Notices of events are welcome. For this, Send email to antibio.resistance@gmail.com. As a good source of material on antibiotic resistance visit http://www.extendingthecure.org/


Thursday, May 6, 2021

Novel dry swab method for RT PCR testing in COVID -19

Contributed by Dr. Ashok Tamhankar & Dr. Nishtha Khatri


The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), India has developed dry swab technology that has been recently approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for COVID-19 testing. The dry swab technology eliminates the need for the use of a liquid transport medium and thereby it not only abolishes the dilution factor but also helps prevent unwanted use of available resources. Moreover, getting rid of the transport medium helps to reduce the testing time considerably. The dry swab technique has been found to be effective and also reduces the risk of handling and transportation of samples.


Sunday, March 28, 2021

Infectious diseases pose a high burden in South East Asia

 Contributed by Dr. Ashok Tamhankar and Dr. Nishtha Khatri 


The South-East Asia region continues to shoulder a significant proportion of the communicable disease burden worldwide. South Asia has the third largest HIV epidemic globally and the highest Tuberculosis burden, accounting for more than a quarter of the global burden. The second highest incidence of malaria, amongst all WHO regions, occurs in the southeast Asia region, and India bears the third-highest proportion of malaria cases globally. Furthermore, the emergence of drug-resistant infections is life threatening.  The emergence of COVID-19 has added to this burden of the already existing infectious diseases. With the roll-out of vaccination drives against COVID-19, it is essential that we do not ignore the infectious diseases that have long plagued this region since long.

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Online Discussion on 4th March 2021 from 17:00-19:00 (IST)

WHO Cancer Centre for LMIC, Mumbai and Indian Initiative for Management of Antibiotic Resistance, India 

Present
Online Discussion on 4th March 2021 from 17:00-19:00 (IST) 

 


Theme: Drugs, Antimicrobial Resistance and allied 

 

Moderators: Dr. Ashok Tamhankar and Dr. Nishtha Khatri

 

Agenda:

1.Challenges of One Health Antibiotic Stewardship in rural community settings

Presentation: 17:00 – 17:40 and Q&A: 17:40 – 18:00
Speaker: Dr. Meenakshi Gautham
London School of hygiene and Tropical Medicine
DiscussantsDr. Vishal Diwan: Scientist at ICMR- National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH) & Dr. KV Arulalan: Primary care pediatrician, chief consultant, A A Childcare, Vellore; Former President, IMA, Vellore

2. Bacteriophage therapy as an alternative therapeutic strategy for MRSA infections

Presentation: 18:00 – 18:30; and Q&A: 18:30 – 19:00
SpeakerDr. Archana L., PhD scholar, Antibiotic Resistance and Phage Therapy Lab, VIT, Vellore
Discussants: Dr. Geetu Bhandoria: Gyne-Oncologist and Obstetrician, Command Hospital, Kolkata and  Member, Junior Editorial Board, International Journal of Gyn Cancer & Dr. Bhakti Sarang, Consultant WHOCC for research in surgical care delivery in LMICs, Mumbai & Associate Professor, Surgery, Terna Medical College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Antimicrobial Resistance and International Travel

Contributed by Dr. Ashok Tamhankar and Dr. Nishtha Khatri

A systematic review of literature on the impact of travel on the dissemination of AMR has revealed that high-income countries were more likely to be recipient for AMR originating from middle- and low-income countries. Travellers from Asia carried 36% of the total isolates with resistant bacteria. Of the total isolates 91.83% were enteric bacteria. Beta-lactams and quinolone drug-resistant organisms were the most documented, accounting for 35% and 31%. Medical tourism was twice as likely to be associated with multidrug-resistant organisms than general travel. Health systems need to take this into account and design curative measures.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Can vaccination help overcome antimicrobial resistance?

Contributed by Dr. Nishtha Khatri & Dr. Ashok Tamhankar



The relatedness between vaccination and reduction in use of antibiotics seems to be a newly surfacing area of interest for researchers. Emerging evidence is suggestive that routine childhood vaccination could lower antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The hypothesis behind this is that vaccination could possibly reduce the burden of vaccine preventable diseases and secondary infections by reducing the consumption of antimicrobials. A recent study published in the ‘Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences’ looked into the association between vaccine use and antibiotic consumption from 2009 to 2017 in the private health sector in India. This study showed that vaccines induced long term reduction in antibiotic usage in the Indian scenario. These findings were seen to be in synchrony with the findings from studies conducted in other low and middle income countries.However, vaccination alone cannot curb AMR and other approaches such as stewardship programmes, infection control measures must be executed in an efficient manner to lower antibiotic use.



Thursday, January 28, 2021

Acceleration of Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities in India: Need of the hour

Contributed by Dr. Nishtha Khatri and Dr. Ashok Tamhankar

The menace posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India requires urgent attention. Interventions need to be implemented to curb the development of AMR. Antimicrobial stewardship is an example of one such intervention.  Antimicrobial stewardship pertains to a coordinated effort aimed at optimal utilisation of antibiotics. The antimicrobial stewardship activities in India are still in incipient stage and require more emergence in future. There is immense scope in improving these activities by reinforcing the utilisation of information technology in monitoring and surveillance. To add to this, education and training is required to sensitise the staff about antimicrobial stewardship activities. Educating about the 4Ds: right drug, right dose, right dosing interval and right duration is a good example of the same. Effective implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programme will prove to be a very useful step towards meeting the goals of the National Action Plan-AMR.



Saturday, January 16, 2021

Indian Antimicrobial Resistance Scenario: New decade, New Challenges

Contributed by Dr. Nishtha Khatri and Dr. Ashok Tamhankar

As we enter 2021 and advance into a new decade, we must be prepared to encounter new challenges which are likely to have an impact on the healthcare scenario in India. Whilst we are already fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is another important issue which requires urgent attention. India shoulders a huge burden of AMR and has been documented to have the highest number of Multi-drug Resistant  Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases and also increasing occurrence of MDR to WHO priority pathogens. Irrational antibiotic prescribing practices add a huge contribution towards AMR as we see an increasing trend in antibiotic prescriptions where antibiotics have been prescribed for a longer duration than required and sometimes even prescribed unnecessarily. To add to this, environmental sources such as water bodies in India, have demonstrated several antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Being mindful of this, there is a dire need to educate people about AMR and to encourage medical practitioners to promote rational prescribing of antibiotics. The article by Chandra et al. published in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care discusses about antimicrobial resistance scenario in India and enlists various measures that can be undertaken to tackle AMR. For more details see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7380775/

Monday, January 4, 2021

 

Welcome Dr. Nishtha Khatri 

We welcome Dr. Nishtha Khatri, M.B.B.S, M.D. as a Scientific Blogger, Research Associate and Blog Coordinator at IIMAR. Dr. Nishtha Khatri completed her MD in Pharmacology from the very prestigious Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai and is currently  an Asstt Professor at Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital. She has good experience in the arena pertaining to Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).  


Dr. Ashok Tamahankar
National Coordinator, IIMAR

Indian Antibiotic Resistance Scenario - 2008 (by A.J. Tamhankar)

From the Scientific Journals

Human-2008.

-Antibiotic resistance calls for better diagnostic labs.
-Antibiotic resistance in pathogens causing urinary tract infections in India.
-Antibiotic resistance pattern of group-a beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from north Indian children.

-Emerging antibiotic resistance in bacteria with special reference to India.
-Incidence of metallo beta lactamase producing Pseudomonas
aeruginosa in ICU patients.
-Estimation of faecal carriage of Clostridium difficile in patients
with ulcerative colitis using RT-PCR.

-Detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamase from clinical isolates in Davangere.
-A study on nosocomial pathogens in ICU with special reference to multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii harbouring multiple plasmids.
-Enterococcal infections & antimicrobial resistance.
-Changing pattern of Clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea in a tertiary care hospital: A 5 year retrospective study.
-Antibiotic sensitivity pattern in cases of enteric fever.
-Functional assignment to JEV proteins using SVM.
-High rate of mutation K103N causing resistance to nevirapine.
-Increased prevalence of extended spectrum beta lactamase producers in neonatal septicaemic cases.
-Correlation between biofilm production and multiple drug resistance in imipenem resistant clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii.
-Detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates producing VEB-type extended-spectrum beta-lactamases.
-Drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against second-line drugs using the Bactec MGIT 960 System.
-Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1 from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA252).
-Study of metallo-beta-lactamase production in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
-Occurrence of ESBL & Amp-C b-lactamases & susceptibility to newer antimicrobial agents in complicated UTI.
-Pneumonia in a traveller coming back from Asia.
-Rising prevalence of enteric fever due to multidrug-resistant Salmonella.
-Risk factors for antibiotic-resistant E. coli in children in a rural area.
-Status of high level aminoglycoside resistant Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis.
-Synergy of gatifloxacin with cefoperazone and cefoperazone-sulbactam against resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
-The cost-effectiveness of typhoid Vi vaccination programs.
-The influence of glucose added urine on the in vitro antimicrobial activity of various antibiotics.
-Trend of antibiotic resistance of Vibrio cholerae strains from East Delhi.
-Triple therapy-based targeted nanoparticles for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori.
-Tigecycline in-vitro susceptibility and antibiotics' fitness for gram-negative pathogens.
-Antibiotic resistance pattern of group-a beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from north Indian children.
-Detection and identification of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
-Changing characteristics of Vibrio cholerae: emergence of multidrug resistance and non-O1, non-O139 serogroups.
-Dental therapeutic systems.
-Incidence of metallo beta lactamase producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in ICU patients.
-Antibiotic prescribing practices in primary and secondary health care facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India.
-Mycobacterium tuberculosis interactome analysis unravels potential pathways to drug resistance.
-TEM & SHV genes in extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Klebsiella species beta their antimicrobial resistance pattern.
-TargetTB: a target identification pipeline for Mycobacterium tuberculosis through an interactome, reactome and genome-scale structural analysis.
-Detection of virulence genes in Vibrio cholerae isolated from aquatic environment in Kerala, Southern India.
-Bacterial persistence: some new insights into an old phenomenon.
-Down regulation of gyrase A gene expression in E. coli by antisense ribozymes using RT-PCR.
-Novel mutations in emb B gene of ethambutol resistant isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a preliminary report.
-A potential plasmid-curing agent, 8-epidiosbulbin E acetate, from Dioscorea bulbifera L. against multidrug-resistant bacteria.
-RpoN gene, RAPD profile, antimicrobial resistance and plasmids of Vibrio anguillarum isolates from vibriosis infected Penaeus monodon.
-Novel and potent oxazolidinone antibacterials featuring 3-indolylglyoxamide substituents.
-Enhancement of the efficacy of erythromycin in multiple antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacterial pathogens.
-Zinc and antibiotic resistance: metallo-beta-lactamases and their synthetic analogues.
-Changing trends in bacteriology of peritonsillar abscess.
-Incidence of bacterial enteropathogens among hospitalized diarrhea patients from Orissa, India.
-Moonlighting function of glutamate racemase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: racemization and DNA gyrase inhibition are two independent activities of the enzyme.
-Substituted 3-((Z)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) vinyl)-4H-chromen-4-ones as novel anti-MRSA agents: synthesis, SAR, and in-vitro assessment.
-Antimicrobial stewardship in institutions and office practices.
-Tigecycline: a critical update.
-Cefoxitin disc diffusion test for detection of meticillin-resistant staphylococci.
-In-vitro antimycobacterial drug susceptibility testing of non-tubercular mycobacteria by tetrazolium microplate assay.
-Differential expression of ompC and ompF in multidrug-resistant Shigella dysenteriae and Shigella flexneri by aqueous extract of Aegle marmelos, altering its susceptibility toward beta-lactam antibiotics.
-Comparative bacteriology of acute and chronic dacryocystitis.
-Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis: current challenges and threats.
-Prevalence of inducible clindamycin resistance in gram positive organisms in a tertiary care centre.
-Assessment of pheromone response in biofilm forming clinical isolates of high level gentamicin resistant Enterococcus faecalis.
-Incidence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in diabetes and cancer patients.
-Evaluation of rapid MTT tube method for detection of drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to rifampicin and isoniazid.
-Phenotypic detection of inducible clindamycin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates by using the lower limit of recommended inter-disk distance.
-Prevalence of extended spectrum beta lactamase and AmpC beta lactamase producers among Escherichia coli isolates in a tertiary care hospital in Jaipur.
-Empiric antibiotic therapy in children with community-acquired pneumonia.
-Comparison of the radiometric BACTEC 460 TB culture system and Löwenstein-Jensen medium for the isolation of mycobacteria in cutaneous tuberculosis and their drug susceptibility pattern.
-Molecular cloning, overexpression and biochemical characterization of hypothetical beta-lactamases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.
-Molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant Shigella species isolated from epidemic and endemic cases of shigellosis in India.
-Epidemiological evidence of multidrug-resistant Shigella sonnei colonization in India by sentinel surveillance in a Japanese quarantine station.
-Aminoglycoside-resistance mechanisms in multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates.
-Antimicrobial resistance pattern of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from peripheral health centres and STD clinic attendees of a tertiary care centre in India.
-Novel structural analogues of piperine as inhibitors of the NorA efflux pump of Staphylococcus aureus.
-Salmonella enterica Serotype typhi in Kuwait and its reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin.
-Synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of 4-[5-(substituted phenyl)-4, 5-dihydro-3-isoxazolyl]-2-methylphenols.
-Observations on carbapenem resistance by minimum inhibitory concentration in nosocomial isolates of Acinetobacter species: an experience at a tertiary care hospital in North India.
-A simple and effective approach for the treatment of chronic wound infections caused by multiple antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli.
-Cefepime and its role in pediatric infections.
-Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of resistance phenotypes of Neisseria gonorrheae in India.

-Stationary phase induced alterations in mycobacterial RNA polymerase assembly: A cue to its phenotypic resistance towards rifampicin.
-Epidemiology, etiology, and diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia in Asian countries.
-Involvement of O8-antigen in altering beta-lactam antibiotic susceptibilities in Escherichia coli.
-Prevalent phenotypes and antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae at an Indian tertiary care hospital: plasmid-mediated cefoxitin resistance.
-Cellphones as reservoirs of nosocomial pathogens.
-A case of fatal acute pyogenic meningitis in a neonate caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Salmonella group B.
-Significance of isolation and drug susceptibility testing of non-Candida albicans species causing oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV patients.
-Small and lethal: searching for new antibacterial compounds with novel modes of action.
-On detection and assessment of statistical significance of Genomic Islands.
-A study of typhoid fever in five Asian countries: disease burden and implications for controls.
-Vibrio cholerae non-O1, non-O139 strains isolated before 1992 from Varanasi, India are multiple drug resistant, contain intSXT, dfr18 and aadA5 genes.
-Emerging resistance to newer antimicrobial agents among Shigella isolated from Finnish foreign travellers.
-Antimicrobial protein from Streptomyces fulvissimus inhibitory to methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
-Modified PAP method to detect heteroresistance to vancomycin among methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates at a tertiary care hospital.
-Detection of Enterobacteriaceae producing CTX-M extended spectrum beta-lactamases from a tertiary care hospital in south India.
-Need for national/regional guidelines and policies in India to combat antibiotic resistance.
-ESBLs detection in clinical microbiology: why & how?
-Detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamase production in clinical isolates of Klebsiella spp.
-Detection of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
-Sequence analysis of bla CTX-M-28 , an ESBL responsible for third-generation cephalosporin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, for the first time in India.
-Spectrum of microbial flora in diabetic foot ulcers.
-Incidence of metallo-beta-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in diabetes and cancer patients.
-Emergence of highly fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi in a community-based fever surveillance from Kolkata, India.
-Enteric fever in Mumbai--clinical profile, sensitivity patterns and response to antimicrobials.
-Diarrhoeal outbreak of Vibrio cholerae 01 Inaba in Delhi.
-The role of antibiotic prophylaxis in mesh repair of primary inguinal hernias using prolene hernia system: a randomized prospective double-blind control trial.
-Antimycobacterial activities of novel 2-(sub)-3-fluoro/nitro-5,12-dihydro-5-oxobenzothiazolo[3,2-a]quinoline-6-carboxylic acid.
-Staphylococcus aureus ocular isolates from symptomatic adverse events: antibiotic resistance and similarity of bacteria causing adverse events.
-Quinolone resistance among Shigella spp. isolated from travellers returning from India.
-Pneumocephalus as a complication of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis.
-Occurrence and detection of AmpC beta lactamases among clinical isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae causing UTI.
-Low recovery rates of high-level aminoglycoside-resistant enterococci could be attributable to restricted usage of aminoglycosides in Indian settings.
-Stomatococcus mucilaginosus meningitis in a healthy 2-month-old child.

-Emergence of tetracycline-resistant Vibrio cholerae O1 serotype Inaba, in Kolkata, India.
-Emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Neisseria meningitidis--Minnesota and North Dakota, 2007-2008.
-Dissemination of clonally related Escherichia coli strains expressing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase CTX-M-15.
-Metallo beta lactamases in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter species.
-Inhibition of DNA gyrase activity by Mycobacterium smegmatis MurI.
-Role of beta-lactamase inhibitors in enterobacterial isolates producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases.
-High nasopharyngeal carriage of beta-lactamase-negative ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae in north Indian school-going children.
-The yejABEF operon of Salmonella confers resistance to antimicrobial peptides and contributes to its virulence.
-Pre-admission antibiotics for suspected cases of meningococcal disease.
-Resistance in gram-negative bacilli in a cardiac intensive care unit in India: risk factors and outcome.
-Microbiological profile of donor corneas: a retrospective study from an eye bank in north India.
-Preparation & characterization of solid inclusion complex of cefpodoxime proxetil with beta-cyclodextrin.
-High level ciprofloxacin resistance in Salmonella enterica isolated from blood.
-Changing patterns of Vibrio cholerae in sevagram between 1990 and 2005.
-Piperine analogs as potent Staphylococcus aureus NorA efflux pump inhibitors.
-Rising standards for tuberculosis drug development.
-Transcriptional activation and increased mRNA stability contribute to overexpression of CDR1 in azole-resistant Candida albicans.
-High rate of detection of high-level aminoglycoside-resistant enterococci from urinary tract specimens in South India.

-Metallo beta lactamases in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter species.
-Orthodox and unorthodox clavulanate combinations against extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers.
-Prevalence and clonality of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Asia.

Non-Human and General-2008.

-Evaluation of the probiotic characteristics of newly isolated lactic acid bacteria.
-Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Diarrheic Calves in Gujarat,India.
-Detection of conjugative plasmids and antibiotic resistance genes in anthropogenic soils from Germany and India.
-Need for guidelines and policies in India to combat Antibiotic Resistance
-Diversity of root associated microorganisms of selected medicinal plants and influence of rhizomicroorganisms on the antimicrobial property of Coriandrum sativum.
-Multiple antibiotic resistance patterns of rhizospheric bacteria isolated from Phragmites australis.
-Antibiotic use, environment and antibiotic resistance: A qualitative study among human and veterinary health care professionals in Orissa, India.
-Multiple antibiotic resistance patterns of rhizospheric bacteria isolated from Phragmites australis growing in constructed wetland for distillery effluent treatment.
-In vitro activity of eugenol, an active component from Ocimum sanctum, against multiresistant and susceptible strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
-Synergism between natural products and antibiotics against infectious diseases.
-Phosphinothricin resistance in Aspergillus niger and its utility as a selectable transformation marker.
-Utility of lytic bacteriophage in the treatment of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia in mice.
-Conjugative plasmids in multi-resistant bacterial isolates from Indian soil.
-Selection of genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis upregulated during residence in lungs of infected mice.
-Contamination of potable water distribution systems by multiantimicrobial-resistant enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.
-Antibacterial activity of some medicinal plant extracts.
-Prevalence and characterization of Salmonella enterica serovar Weltevreden from imported seafood.
-Utilization of Bombyx mori larvae as a surrogate animal model for evaluation of the anti-infective potential of oxazolidinones.