Death rates due to common conditions such as pneumonia and skin infections also plummeted, heralding an era in which many thought the battle against infectious diseases had been decisively won. As late as 1985, a keynote address at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America questioned the need for infectious disease specialists at all. Left unaddressed, antibiotic resistance could take us back to a time in which people routinely died from basic bacterial infections. India also has a high burden of AMR, and more antibiotics are used in aggregate in India than in any other country. Farmers should vaccinate animals, and only use antibiotics to control or treat infectious diseases in animals under veterinary supervision.

Source: Hindustan Times November 18, 2019 07:48 UTC