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India opens door to superbugs
http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-02-290814.html
India opens door to superbugs
By Ranjita Biswas
Aug 29, '14
KOLKATA, India - In 2011, the World Health Organisation warned: "Combat Drug Resistance - No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow." The slogan was coined in honor of World Health Day, urging governments to ensure responsible use of antibiotics in order to prevent drug-resistant viruses and bacteria, or ‘super bugs'.
The warning is even more salient in 2014, particularly in India, a country of 1.2 billion people that recently earned the dubious distinction of being the worst country in terms of antibiotic overuse in the world.
With the average Indian taking some 11 antibiotic pills a year, the country consumed about 12.9 billion units in 2010, up from eight billion units in 2001.
An analysis of national pharmaceutical sales data published in ‘The Lancet Infectious Diseases' last month found that Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa accounted for 76% of the increase in antibiotic use around the world.