New proposal to limit antibiotic use, wants countries to set targets

Specifically, the Science analysis recommends that all countries exceeding current median global consumption of antibiotics—22 standard units per capita per year—reduce their antibiotic use to that level. Doing so would lower overall use by an estimated 21 per cent globally without negatively affecting countries that have limited access to antibiotics.

The cost of antibiotic treatment and mortality due to resistance are increasing worldwide The greatest burden occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially among the young: An estimated 214,000 neonatal sepsis deaths are attributable to resistant pathogens each year. But high-income countries are not immune: An estimated 23,000 people in the United States and 25,000 in Europe die each year from resistant pathogens.

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In the past year, antibiotic resistance has been responsible for over seven lakh deaths worldwide including 2,14,000 sepsis related deaths of infants four weeks or younger. In addition, more than one million children die annually from untreated pneumonia and sepsis because they cannot gain access to effective antibiotics, according to experts calling for action.

Achieving global targets for antibiotic resistance should be a key element of the UN plan, according to the proposal authors, who include Ramanan Laxminarayan, director for the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, and Martin Blaser, director of New York University’s Human Microbiome Program and chair of the President’s Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The September 21 marks only the third time in history that the UN has used its convening power to bring heads of state together on a health issue, Laxminaryan said.