The Chairperson for the Uganda Antimicrobial Resistance Committee from Makerere University, Dr. Henry Kajumbura, has warned the public against using antibiotics irresponsibly, revealing that it fuels the spread of infectious diseases.
According to Kajumbura, microorganisms that cause diseases are becoming increasingly resistant to the medicines that people use to treat the infections, which means that the medicine has become less effective globally.
He added that because of the resistance of microorganisms, nearly 1.3 million people die every year globally because the antibiotics they take are not effective against the bacteria that cause the disease they are suffering from.
“Some of the diseases like pneumonia, typhoid, and other infections of wounds following surgeries can cause that kind of death. The major cause of the resistance by the microorganisms or germs to the medicine is consuming the antibiotics irresponsibly, such as giving them to a person that doesn’t need them. As a result, the germs get exposed and eventually develop ways of fighting these medicines, and they get resistant,” Dr. Kajumbura said.
Kajumbula made the remarks while addressing the media on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
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According to Kajumbula, some germs are caused by inadequate hygiene by healthcare workers, as some fail to clean platforms that contain the infectious germs.
“Both the misuse of antibiotics and inadequate hygiene in the hospitals cause resistance of the germs because in a hospital people have all these infectious agents, including those that have developed resistance,” he said.
While commenting on the ongoing World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, Rogers Kisame from the Children’s Foundation Uganda said that the week will end with the conference at Kampala Serena Hotel, where different officials from the Ministry of Health will dive into how to prevent the transmission of infectious germs, among others.
The conference is expected to run from tomorrow Wednesday and will end on Friday, November 22, 2024.
