Antibiotic Stewardship Network in India (ABSN) is a network dedicated to make the nation aware about antibiotic resistance. ABSN has launched the popular cartoon character of Diamond Comics, Chacha Chaudhary as their mascot for the mission, in a press conference held today in the capital. The network is spearheading a special effort to sensitise the community as well as the medical practitioners on the adverse consequences of irrational use of antibiotics. Speaking on this occasion, Dr. N.V. Kamat, Director, Delhi health services said, “People assume that antibiotics will always be there to fight the worst infections, but antibiotic resistance is robbing us of that certainty and new drug-resistant pathogens are emerging. It’s not enough to hope that we’ll have effective drugs to combat these infections. We must all act now to safeguard this important resource. I congratulate ABSN for doing a tremendous work for this issue.” Mr. Gulshan Rai, MD, Diamond comics said, “We are really obliged and proud to be associated with ABSN. Chacha Chaudhary is of course a symbol of wisdom and intelligence. Thus we want everyone to take the antibiotics intelligently and not irrationally.’
R. D. Gardi Medical College Ujjain in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet (Medical University Sweden) have initiated a program on “Antibiotic Stewardship Network in India” (ABSN) which is supported by Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The program involves campaigning for rationale antibiotic use and minimizing the spread of antibiotic resistance through better hygiene practices in India.
Dr. Ashish Pathak, principal co-ordinator, ABSN said, “ABSN aims to bring together the major stakeholders involved in preventing spread of antibiotic resistance on a single platform, so as to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics”. “I request you to join the network and help us to take this endeavor forward by forming locally relevant policies and guidelines. Even the antibiotic resistance in environmental is increasingly being reported, which requires focused studies and policies in India”, added Dr. Pathak.
Addressing the media Dr. Cecilia Stalsby Lundborg, Professor, Global Health, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) said, “Antibiotic resistance cannot be stopped but we can definitely control the spread of resistant bacteria and preserve our life saving antibiotics for the future by rational antibiotic use and local antibiotic prescribing guidelines. We will need multi-sectoral, multi-faceted long-term approaches to achieve this goal. ”
ABSN is organizing awareness sessions and workshops all over India in collaboration with various professional groups and NGO’s. In addition, ABSN also aims to sensitize the community on appropriate antibiotic use.
