National Policy for containment of antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance in pathogens causing important communicable diseases has become a matter of great public health concern globally including our country. Resistance has emerged even to newer, more potent antimicrobial agents like carbapenems. The factors responsible for this are widespread use and availability of practically all the antimicrobials across the counter meant for human, animal and industrial consumption. There are definite policies / guidelines for appropriate use of antimicrobials at national level in specific national health programmes being run in the country e.g. RNTCP, National AIDS control programme, etc. For other diseases of public health importance like enteric fever, diarrhoeal disease, respiratory infections, etc the individual hospitals are following their own antimicrobial policies and hospital infection control guidelines. To monitor antimicrobial resistance it is necessary to have regulations for use and misuse of antibiotics in the country, creation of national surveillance system for antibiotic resistance, mechanism of monitoring prescription
audits, regulatory provision for monitoring use of antibiotics in human, veterinary & industrial sectors and identification of specific intervention measures for rational use of antibiotics. (Developed under the Chairpersonship of Dr. R. K. Srivastava).