Govt acts on growing antibiotic resistance

Dar es Salaam. The government is now banking on the one-health approach as it lays the ground for a national action plan to curb rising antibiotic resistance in the country.

This was revealed by Chief Medical Officer Mohammed Kambi after researchers called for a review of policies guiding the use of antibiotics in Tanzania.

The researchers said in two reports that common antibiotics being prescribed routinely in the country were losing their effectiveness due to lack of clear policies guiding medical practitioners. The one-health concept is a collaborative approach involving experts in veterinary medicine and those in the health sector, and is expected to help tackle antibiotic resistance in a holistic manner, Prof Kambi said.

Experts have previously cautioned that highly resistant organisms are passed from animals on to humans through meat, milk and other animal products.

Last year, an expert on bacteriology, Prof Said Aboud, analysed how antibiotics resistance was affecting the country in many sectors. His findings are contained in a publication titled Preface to GARP-Tanzania Situation Analysis and Recommendations on Antibiotic Resistance. One of the issues highlighted is the contribution of animal products in the rise of antibiotic resistance. “This contributes to the decline towards ineffective antibiotics, like an approaching siren, getting louder and louder,” he said.

In an interview with The Citizen, Prof Kambi said the envisaged national action plan would involve the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), pharmaceutical authorities and other health stakeholders.

“It will also address behavioural, legal and social implications of bacterial resistance,” he told said. Those targeted are health workers, drug dispensers and consumers of antibiotics.

“As we are speaking, we (the government) are working to bring together stakeholders from all sectors–veterinary and human medicine and others–so that we can discuss ways of dealing with antibiotic resistance.’’

Prof Kambi’s remarks come at time when the World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning member countries about the consequences of resistant bugs, which include failure to treat common illnesses.

WHO’s first report on the global threat of resistant bugs released two years ago, reveals that the threat of antibiotic resistance is no longer a prediction for the future.

According to a recent study carried out by experts from the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and the Southern African Centre for Infectious Diseases Surveillance (SACIDS), bacteria have developed resistance against first line antibiotics—the cheaper options for people in Tanzania.

Titled The Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance in Tanzania: Time for Bold Actions, the study shows that people who were opting for ampicillin (a first-line antibiotic), which costs only Sh500 for 500mg vial, are now forced to opt for more expensive antibiotics such as Meropenem, which costs Sh25,250 for each one-gramme ampule.

And according to the WHO report, antibiotic resistance is happening right now in every region of the world.