Have you ever been in a situation where you noticed that the same drug/antibiotics you used for a previous infection/disease would not work for a new infection/disease?
Have you ever imagined what would become of you if you fall ill and there is no one drug that can treat the disease/infection?
Do you know that antibiotics resistance genes can be passed from humans to animals and vice versa and that animals can transmit these resistance to human population through the food and water we drink as well as the environment?
Have you ever cared to find out if an animal was treated with antibiotics prior to slaughter and if the withdrawal period of the antibiotics was observed?
The WHO estimates that by 2050, the number of deaths from antibiotic resistance could be over 10,000,000 (ten million) annually. Out of this figure, about 9, 000,000 (nine million) would be from developing countries especially Africa if nothing is done to halt it.
To tell you the seriousness of this issue, about 192 world leaders including governments of many countries signed a declaration at the September 2016 United Nations meeting to join in the fight against antibiotic resistance. It is a global issue that calls for serious concern!
The responsibility does not lie with the government alone in making sure that the world is free from antibiotic resistance. It is also our individual responsibility to ensure that we take very deliberate steps to preserve the efficacy of the very few antibiotics left.
We can do this by ensuring that we take only antibiotics that have been prescribed by a qualified health personnel, by using the right drug for the right infection, avoid sharing drugs with a family member or using remnants of drugs you used for a previous infection as the causative organism may not be the same, by finishing the dose of antibiotics you are given - do not prolong or shorten the course even when you think you are feeling well or better because every organism requires a certain strength, dose or duration of antibiotics in order to completely knock it off; ensure you complete the treatment as prescribed because the more antibiotics you use, the more resistance develops.
Good enough NAFDAC has put in place mechanisms to check for counterfeit drugs and the process is as simple as texting the drug code to a given number for free. No matter how much in a hurry you are, always try to confirm that the drug you are about to take has been certified genuine because there are a lot of porous routes by which very low quality drugs find their way into most drug stores.
There are also certain infections that are referred to as "self-limiting" which means that the body finds a way to fight off the infection on its own without the help of drugs; always check with your doctor to be sure you need an antibiotic for a given infection.
For farmers and other animal handlers, ensure you use antibiotics that are prescribed by only a veterinarian and ensure you use them at the prescribed dose and length of time. Do not try to use antibiotics to cover up for wrong and poor animal health practices. Most times, good farm practices, hygiene, sanitation and vaccinations will keep your animals healthy and save you a lot of money.
Most animal drugs will indicate the withdrawal time, always ensure that you observe this strictly if you have to slaughter or sell your animal for food or its products for human consumption.
Let us be careful how we discharge human and animal wastes into the environment and our water bodies especially because we will only be starting a circle that may come back to us. Antibiotics can improve life expectancy if used wisely, it can also promote animal, human and agricultural health.
Remember that in the last 30 years, no new antibiotic has been developed and we are not sure that any one which will be developed in the future will stand the test of time. Our future and those of our unborn children lies in our hands. It is for us to decide now whether we want to get to a point where an ordinary boil or sore will have the ability to kill. It is either we learn to use antibiotics responsibly or loose it!
Kindly read and share this message so that together we can do our little bit to save the world!
We will be looking at issues around antibiotics resistance in the next couple of posts . Stay tuned cos it's antibiotics resistance enlightenment so here i go......... !!!
The WHO estimates that by 2050, the number of deaths from antibiotic resistance could be over 10,000,000 (ten million) annually. Out of this figure, about 9, 000,000 (nine million) would be from developing countries especially Africa if nothing is done to halt it.
To tell you the seriousness of this issue, about 192 world leaders including governments of many countries signed a declaration at the September 2016 United Nations meeting to join in the fight against antibiotic resistance. It is a global issue that calls for serious concern!
The responsibility does not lie with the government alone in making sure that the world is free from antibiotic resistance. It is also our individual responsibility to ensure that we take very deliberate steps to preserve the efficacy of the very few antibiotics left.
We can do this by ensuring that we take only antibiotics that have been prescribed by a qualified health personnel, by using the right drug for the right infection, avoid sharing drugs with a family member or using remnants of drugs you used for a previous infection as the causative organism may not be the same, by finishing the dose of antibiotics you are given - do not prolong or shorten the course even when you think you are feeling well or better because every organism requires a certain strength, dose or duration of antibiotics in order to completely knock it off; ensure you complete the treatment as prescribed because the more antibiotics you use, the more resistance develops.
Good enough NAFDAC has put in place mechanisms to check for counterfeit drugs and the process is as simple as texting the drug code to a given number for free. No matter how much in a hurry you are, always try to confirm that the drug you are about to take has been certified genuine because there are a lot of porous routes by which very low quality drugs find their way into most drug stores.
There are also certain infections that are referred to as "self-limiting" which means that the body finds a way to fight off the infection on its own without the help of drugs; always check with your doctor to be sure you need an antibiotic for a given infection.
For farmers and other animal handlers, ensure you use antibiotics that are prescribed by only a veterinarian and ensure you use them at the prescribed dose and length of time. Do not try to use antibiotics to cover up for wrong and poor animal health practices. Most times, good farm practices, hygiene, sanitation and vaccinations will keep your animals healthy and save you a lot of money.
Most animal drugs will indicate the withdrawal time, always ensure that you observe this strictly if you have to slaughter or sell your animal for food or its products for human consumption.
Let us be careful how we discharge human and animal wastes into the environment and our water bodies especially because we will only be starting a circle that may come back to us. Antibiotics can improve life expectancy if used wisely, it can also promote animal, human and agricultural health.
Remember that in the last 30 years, no new antibiotic has been developed and we are not sure that any one which will be developed in the future will stand the test of time. Our future and those of our unborn children lies in our hands. It is for us to decide now whether we want to get to a point where an ordinary boil or sore will have the ability to kill. It is either we learn to use antibiotics responsibly or loose it!
Kindly read and share this message so that together we can do our little bit to save the world!
