Anti-Microbial Resistance Strategies Need Urgent Attention to Prevent Unnecessary Deaths in Africa

Africa’s laboratories need to step up testing to aid in fighting Anti-Microbial Resistance. This photo is a 3D computer-generated image of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, the pathogen responsible for causing the disease tuberculosis (TB). Credit: CDC/UnsplashBy Francis KokutseACCRA, Nov 3 2022 (IPS) African countries must find a way of fighting Anti-Microbial Resistance in the healthcare system to avoid unnecessary deaths. A few months ago, the President of the Ghana Public Health Association, Amofah George, narrated how he saw a patient die after failing to respond to all the available antibiotics used for managing her septicemic condition, blood poisoning, especially caused by bacteria or their toxins. He attributed the situation to antibiotic resistance, or Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) which he said has become a growing pandemic. The problem is simple: Africa’s healthcare system does not routinely rely on laboratories to produce tests for treatment. AMR programme manager of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), Edwin Shumba, told IPS, “Ghana, like other countries on the continent, rely on a few medical laboratories to conduct bacteriology testing as part of the routine clinical services.” “This means that doctors are flying blind when prescribing a treatment to their patients, and public health experts do not have an insight of what is ongoing in terms of AMR, at hospital and national level,” Shumba said. “The growing threat of AMR has i...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Featured Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Sustainable Development Goals TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Source Type: news