Superbug scare drives antibiotics policy in Mumbai

While the debate still ensues within the medical fraternity about the existence of an antibiotic-resistant superbug, as a safety measure, the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) is creating an antibiotic profile and policy that will be sent to medical colleges across the state.

Doctors say the formulation of such a policy is important as there is no antibiotic policy in the country to regulate indiscriminate use of the medicine that leads to drug resistance.

Recently, the international medical journal Lancet published a report alleging the presence of the superbug in Delhi’s water supply. However, RK Shrivastav, director general health services in Delhi has clarified that the presence of such a pathogen is yet to be proved.

“Nobody really knows about the presence of the superbug. However, we have decided to address the threat by creating a universal policy on antibiotics,” said Dr Arun Jamkar, vice chancellor, MUHS.

Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), said, “We still do not have a specific policy on antibiotics, but during the teaching process, we tell doctors about antibiotics standards. When microbiology departments in all our hospitals come across cases of resistance to antibiotic drugs, they immediately inform the concerned pharmaceutical company.”

According to senior doctors, most developed countries have antibiotic policies and the absence of one in India is a source of major concern as there is no mechanism to monitor the use of these drugs.

Dr Abhay Chowdhary, director, Haffkine Institute of Research and Training Center, who is also the former president of Indian Association of Medical Microbiology, said, “Doctors use broad-spectrum antibiotics which are like bombs that destroy everything. If you have a particular target pathogen, you should use specific antibiotics. There are doctors who don’t understand this and keep prescribing drugs indiscriminately which gives rise to drug resistance.”

He added, “Hospital authorities should keep a close watch on the kind of high-end antibiotics used by patients. Otherwise, we can reach a stage where no antibiotics will work. To avoid resistance, we also need to improve infection control practices in hospitals.”

Dr Gustad Davar, director of medical services at Hinduja Hospital, said, “Antibiotics are often available over-the-counter in the absence of adequate regulations. To take care of the drug resistance issue, we have our own committee which conducts an audit every month on how many antibiotics are used by patients at the hospital.”