Excessive use of antibiotics, they do not kill bacteria, they are losing their effectiveness: Dr. Devi Shetty

New Delhi : Renowned cardiac surgeon and Founder-Chairman of Narayana Health, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stern warning against misuse of antibiotics, highlighting the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the country.

In his recent ‘Mann Ki Baat’ speech, PM Modi cited an ICMR report to explain how indiscriminate use of antibiotics is increasing AMR, making common infections difficult to treat. Dr. Shetty echoed these concerns, calling AMR a major crisis that could take medicine back to the “pre-penicillin era.”

Speaking to ANI news agency, Dr Shetty thanked the Prime Minister for raising the issue, and said that antimicrobial resistance could soon push the world into a dangerous medical phase, where even common infections will become incurable. He said, “I would like to thank our Prime Minister for spreading awareness about antimicrobial resistance. What does antimicrobial resistance mean? It simply means that when you have a serious infection, no antibiotic will be able to cure your problem. Why did we get into this trouble? I have been practicing heart surgery in India for the last 36 years. The first 15 years were the best time of my life. Any After a heart operation, no matter how major, we used to give antibiotics only for two days, and then if the patient’s condition deteriorated after the surgery, the thought of sepsis or infection never came to our mind because in the last 10 years, things have changed. He said that in the last ten years, the situation has changed a lot.

Dr. Shetty further said, “Nowadays, when we do complex heart surgery or any surgery, our biggest fear is infection. The problem is that infection can happen, but most of the common antibiotics that we use these days do not kill the bacteria at all. This is because of the excessive misuse of antibiotics. All these bacteria have consumed so many antibiotics that today they do not care about antibiotics.”

Dr. Shetty said that people often take antibiotics for minor diseases like fever, cold or cough, due to which resistance increases rapidly. He said, “You get cold, cough or fever. You insist on taking antibiotics, then these bacteria eat them so much that they have no effect on them anymore. Now you can think, if this is so, then why don’t we make new antibiotics? The first thing is that not a single new antibiotic has been made for the last few years, because it takes millions of dollars to make antibiotics that kill bacteria, and even if we make any new medicine, the way we are taking antibiotics, only a few “In time the bacteria will become resistant.” The doctor also warned that creating new antibiotics is neither easy nor sustainable.

“All you have to do is avoid taking antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription and never ask the doctor if you need antibiotics. If the doctor thinks you need antibiotics, they’ll prescribe them, but you don’t insist on them. If you don’t believe me, soon, we’ll run out of all antibiotics, and we’ll go back to the pre-penicillin era. This is before the invention of penicillin. We’re headed in that direction. So my request to all of you is to always avoid taking antibiotics if possible and never take antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription,” Dr. Shetty stressed. He also stressed the importance of avoiding the suggestion of demanding or insisting on antibiotics.

The post Excessive use of antibiotics, they do not kill bacteria, they are losing their effectiveness: Dr. Devi Shetty appeared first on Buzz | ….