Dr Kapil Zirpe, former president of ISCCM, organising secretary of Best Of Brussels, and director of the stroke unit, said, “80 percent antibiotics are used in poultry farms.

“Governments should strictly control the use of antibiotics in poultry farms. India ranks top in antibiotic use across the world. Every year, we see a rise in antibiotic use, 7–8% in outpatients and 11 % in indoor patients,” he said.

Clinicians should know when to prescribe antibiotics and when not to. Common people should be educated regarding unnecessary use of antibiotics, he added.

Emphasising the serious health issue of Sepsis, Dr Subhal Dixit, joint organising secretary, Best of Brussels and former president of ISCCM, said, “Sepsis is a global problem, killing 10 million people annually. This is one of the largest causes of mortality in intensive care along with heart attacks or strokes. Data from WHO or surviving sepsis guidelines state that 50 million patients were admitted to various ICUs across the world due to sepsis. Even in India, we expect that sepsis patients will double by 2050, in we take no action in curbing AMR. India is not at par with Western and European countries when it comes to AMR.”

Speaking on poor quality antibiotics, Dr Shirish Prayag, former president of ISCCM, organizing chairman, Best Of Brussels, said that one reason for increasing AMR prevalence is poor quality antibiotics available in the market. “This should be immediately controlled,” he said, “and only good quality antibiotics from reputed organisations should be available. In India, AMR is increasing at an alarming rate and India is one of the capitals of AMR globally.”

Addressing AMR is a collective effort, which is also the need of the hour, experts said.
The pipeline of newer drugs is slower and soon we will be in the era of pre-antibiotics where no antibiotics will be left to treat infections. If cheaper and readily available diagnostics are available then it is easy to find the cause of the condition and not prescribe antibiotics. Antibiotics is not a cure for each and every disease. Doctors should explain to patients about anti-microbial resistance,” they said.