Vietnam is facing the challenge of resistant bacteria (resistant to two antibiotic groups) and multi-resistant bacteria (resistant to all antibiotics), therefore while many developed countries using generation 1 antibiotics can treat bacteria effectively, Vietnam has to use generation 3 and 4 antibiotics, the government portal reported.

Map of worldwide antibiotic resistance status by 2050. Photo: Chinhphu.vn

Dr. Doan Mai Phuong, former head of Department of Microbiology under Bach Mai Hospital, said that antibiotic-resistant bacteria currently concern the whole world when the invention of new antibiotics cannot catch up with the speed of increasing resistant bacteria. In some countries, it is not even possible to control this situation.

About 700,000 people in the world die per year of antibiotic resistance. The WHO estimates that by 2050, one person will die every three seconds of antibiotic-resistant viruses, equivalent to about 10 million people per year. Common diseases like coughing or just a cut can be fatal, Phuong added.

She noted that to determine whether a bacterium has antibiotic resistance or because doctors use insufficient antibiotics doses, it is necessary to make antibiotic map at the microbiological laboratory.

If the test results show that the patient is infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, doctors will immediately isolate the patient, preventing the resistant bacteria from spreading to others and helping extend the life of the current antibiotics, Phuong said.

However, only a few hospitals in Vietnam have standard microbiological laboratory. Thus, the hospitals and doctors, the community itself and patients must make effort to limit antibiotic resistance. In particular, experts suggest patients should not buy antibiotics without prescription and the use of antibiotics in livestock should be restrained. Hanoitimes