HCM CITY (VNS)— Uncontrolled, careless and improper use can exhaust antibiotics in the not-too-distant future, speakers warned at a conference held in HCM City last weekend.
More than 700 domestic and international doctors and experts attended "Inspiration 2013" to discuss key factors in treating bacterial contamination and infections, in particular the latest situation regarding the use, effectiveness and availability of antibiotics.
Guy Richards, a South African expert, said unreasonable use of antibiotics worldwide and the emergence of new, drug-resistant bacteria posed serious healthcare challenges.
Echoing Richards, Tran Van Ngoc, chairman of the HCM City Respiratory Society, also noted that the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria was happening at a time when the invention of new antibiotics had slowed down. This would soon lead to "antibiotic exhaustion," he said.
Other conference participants stressed that antibiotics should only be used when absolutely necessary and basic principles of prescription and consumption must be strictly adhered to.
Ngoc suggested that healthcare centres implement programmes and strategies to show effective "Antibiotic Stewardship."
Viet Nam has formal guidelines on the use of antibiotics to treat infectious diseases that doctors should abide by in order to protect their patients and ensure long-term development of the domestic healthcare sector, he said.
The event was jointly organised by the HCM City Respiratory Society Association and GlazoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical group.
Get VietNam News
Post a Comment