13-year study finds resistance to last-line antibiotics

BJMC is part of the national AMR surveillance program of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The program was started at BJMC in 2013, making it the second center in the country after Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. As part of the project, up to 40 leading healthcare facilities in India are now part of the NCDC's National AMR Surveillance Network. BJMC is also part of the Maharashtra Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program 'MAHASAR', officials said.

Antibiotic resistance poses a threat to global health and development, causes millions of deaths worldwide each year and is considered a silent pandemic. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medications. The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are the main causes of the development of drug-resistant pathogens, according to officials involved in the study.

Dr. Rajesh Karyakarte, head of microbiology department, BJMC, said, “The study involved over one lakh antimicrobial susceptibility tests to find out which primary or reserved antibiotics are helpful in treating patients.” Such studies are significant for the introduction of rapid empirical antimicrobial therapy Treatment in patients with septicemia and other life-threatening infections.”

According to the study, pathogens such as E. coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Salmonella, Staph aureus and Enterococcus, among others, were examined and their antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is a test that determines which antibiotics or other antimicrobial medications are effective against a particular bacteria or fungus. The NCDC study helps to create an antibiogram of such pathogens so that empirical treatment can be initiated by the treating physicians.

Dr. Karyakarte said that during the study, pathogens such as colistin-resistant GNB (gram-negative bacilli), linezolid-resistant GPC (gram-positive cocci), vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), as well as ceftriaxone were alerted Resistant salmonella has been identified.

“These pathogens are considered alarming and, if found in hospitals, must be reported as a matter of priority. Details of the alarm pathogens will be communicated to the NCDC. The practice is followed regularly,” he said, adding that the details of the study will be made public later.