Pathogen resistance sees 90% increase in related deaths among older persons
Published:Wednesday | November 20, 2024 | 12:10 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
There is an urgent need for new strategies to mitigate the risk of antimicrobial resistance, especially as deaths from this issue are projected to rise among older adults, Dr Osbil Watson, chief veterinary officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, has declared.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when pathogens develop resistance to the drugs designed to treat them, making infections more difficult to manage and cure.
According to Watson, deaths linked to this health issue in people 70 years and older increased by 90 per cent from 1990 to 2021, with trends expected to continue to rise in the coming decade. Further, he stated that by 2050, resistant infection could be involved in about eight million deaths each year, either as the direct cause of death or as a contributing factor.
“We need vaccines, new drugs, the development of these takes a longer time, a lot of research, but we need new ones because a lot of what we have today is not working. We need to improve healthcare, from the standpoint of veterinary science, it starts with hygiene on farms ... that will ensure a safer food supply,” he said.
He was speaking on Tuesday at The University of the West Indies, Mona during the Antimicrobial Resistance Symposium, held in conjunction with World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, observed from November 18-24.
Watson stressed that this improved healthcare should be replicated at the primary level with an emphasis on good nutrition.
He said there also needs to be better access to antibiotics.
“It’s a problem that we all face in the veterinary profession and the medical profession, finding microbials that work and, importantly, guidance as to how to use these antibiotics.”
Dr Simone Spence, director of health promotion and protection in the Ministry of Health & Wellness, stated that the “critical global health issue” of antimicrobial resistance requires collective action.
ONE-HEALTH APPROACH
“The ministry is committed to mitigating the risks of antimicrobial resistance through a one-health approach. This approach acknowledges that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environments. By working together we can improve global prescribing and use of antibiotics, as well as anti-fungal drugs – invest in infection prevention action across human, animal and environmental health,” she said.
Key areas of focus, Spence noted, should include enhanced surveillance, where human, animal and environmental surveillance is integrated to detect and be able to respond to antimicrobial resistance.
Further, there should be responsive antimicrobial use, as well as effective infection prevention and control.
In the meantime, Kent Coipel, country head for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (ICA), stated that it has been working alongside the ministries of Agriculture and Health in Jamaica to complete an antimicrobial monitoring programme for the livestock sector in Jamaica.
“This surveillance programme proposes a systematic, coordinated and continuous process of collecting and testing animals and samples at critical points in the food chain,” he said.
He noted that the programme’s data collection will be up to international standards.
“It will enable the country to identify weak points along the food chain that are insecure to prevent or reduce the likelihood of resistance pathogens entering the food chain,” he said. “This will allow us to gain a better understanding of potential sources of drug resistance among pathogens entering the food we eat, and cause disease.”