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.

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.

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) 

 

Venue: Online: https://ki-se.zoom.us/j/654354616

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

Discussants: Dr. 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

Speaker: Dr. 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

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.

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.

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.

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/

 

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