A two-day international webinar organised by faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology at Shoolini University to mark the occasion of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) concluded on Saturday.
Vice Chancellor Prof. P.K. Khosla, inaugurated the webinar and highlighted the need to take effective measures to curtail the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance. He also discussed about the importance of Ayurveda in curing diseases and said Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) could be one such plant to cure emerging pandemics.
Prof. Anuradha Sourirajan, Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology welcome the speakers and participants from Nigeria and India. She emphasised the growing concern of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which has become a global health threat. She said that AMR is a silent pandemic, which continues to threaten our ability to treat common infections.
The first session was chaired by Prof. Bikash Medhi, Department of Pharmacology and coordinator of Pharmacovigilance centre at PGIMER, Chandigarh, and spoke on “quality of medicine and antimicrobial resistance: current challenges”. He said that the major challenge faced by national health care system is to provide appropriate health products and services in a reasonable, reliable and efficient manner accessible to the majority of the population.
Dr. Puneet Dhamija from AIIMS, Rishikesh, talked about the rational use of antimicrobials and the strategy to minimize the use of antimicrobials. He explained how drug resistance was evolved in bacteria.
The second session was chaired by Professor from Nigeria Busayo Olayinka who spoke on “Antimicrobial Resistance: The Unending Battle?” he spoke about the risk associated with antibiotic overuse and initiatives to reduce the problem. He said that there is a dry antibiotic pipeline as no new antibiotic class has come up in the last three decades.
Prof. Titilayo Oyelola Fakeye from University of Ibadan, Nigeria talked about the indiscriminate use of antimicrobial agents, the consequences and the way forward with reference to Nigeria.
Dr. Oladoja Awofisayo from University of Uyo, Nigeria talked about how to combat multi-drug resistance in our environment. Dr. Abiodun Egwuenu (MBChB, MPH, Centres for Disease Control (NCDC), Nigeria) talked about the history of use of antibiotics. She also talked about how antibiotic resistance is accelerated and what are the complexities associated with antimicrobial resistance.
Prof. Kamal Dev of Shoolini University apprised the participants about the genesis of the webinar. He shared about the ‘One Health’ approach that focuses on implementing policies, programmes and research to achieve better human, animal , and environmental health. He said that ‘One Health’ approach is relevant in combating AMR.
