UPSC Relevance – GS Paper 2: Health Policy, Governance, Public Awareness
GS Paper 3: Science & Technology, Biotechnology, Environmental Health
Why in News
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) — the ability of microbes like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites to survive drugs meant to kill them — is a growing global threat. Yet, public awareness, media coverage, and political attention have declined over the years.
Experts argue that fear-based narratives, once effective, now fail to engage people. There is a need to shift from catastrophe-focused communication to personal, relatable, and hopeful storytelling that emphasizes the daily relevance of AMR.
Understanding AMR
AMR occurs when microbes evolve to resist antimicrobial drugs (antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, antimalarials, anthelmintics), rendering standard treatments ineffective. Microorganisms that develop resistance are often called “superbugs.”
- Natural Phenomenon: Microbes naturally evolve over time, but human misuse accelerates resistance.
- Global Threat: WHO lists AMR among the top ten global health threats.
- Historical Example: The 2010 discovery of New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) demonstrated bacteria resistant to nearly all antibiotics, including last-resort drugs. While the naming caused diplomatic concerns, it raised national awareness and led to India’s Chennai Declaration (2012) — a milestone plan to curb antibiotic misuse.
| What Are Antibiotics? Antibiotics are medicines that kill or stop bacteria causing infections, saving millions of lives each year. Examples: Penicillin, Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin — used for bacterial infections like pneumonia, TB, or urinary tract infections. They work by destroying bacterial cell walls or stopping bacteria from multiplying. Important: Antibiotics only work on bacteria, not viruses like the common cold, flu, or COVID-19. Why Important: Before antibiotics (pre-1940s), even minor infections could be fatal, and surgeries were very risky. They revolutionized medicine, making procedures like organ transplants and chemotherapy safe. Key Point: Misuse or overuse can cause bacteria to develop resistance, leading to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). |
Causes of AMR
- High Burden of Infectious Diseases – Frequent infections like tuberculosis, diarrhoea, and respiratory diseases require repeated antibiotic treatment.
- Overburdened Healthcare Systems – Limited laboratory capacity prevents accurate, targeted diagnosis, leading to broad antibiotic use.
- Poor Infection Control – Hygiene lapses in hospitals and clinics accelerate the spread of resistant microbes.
- Injudicious Antibiotic Use – Overprescription, self-medication, incomplete courses, and unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotics create selective pressure for resistance.
- Unregulated Access – Easy over-the-counter availability of antibiotics fuels misuse.
- Low Public Awareness – Insufficient knowledge about proper antibiotic use encourages misuse.
- Limited Surveillance – Lack of robust tracking systems makes it difficult to understand resistance patterns and respond effectively.
Implications of AMR
Healthcare
- Common infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and skin infections become harder to treat.
- AMR contributes to prolonged illness, severe symptoms, and increased mortality.
Economic
- Treatment costs rise due to longer hospital stays, expensive drugs, and additional procedures.
- Burden on healthcare systems and governments increases significantly.
Medical Procedures
- Surgeries, chemotherapy, and organ transplants become riskier due to resistant infections.
Shrinking Treatment Options
- Increasing resistance reduces the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.
- Without new drugs, previously manageable infections could become untreatable, potentially returning medicine to a pre-antibiotic era.
A New Perspective: Humanizing AMR
1. Focus on Daily Life
Instead of abstract warnings, explain immediate consequences: antibiotics disturb the gut microbiome, leading to anxiety, depression, asthma, obesity, diabetes, skin conditions, and allergies.
2. Highlight Human-Microbe Partnership
Our bodies host trillions of microbes that support digestion, immunity, vitamin production, mood regulation, and skin health. Protecting these “good bugs” is essential for overall health.
3. Celebrate Microbial Diversity
Microbes create uniqueness in our lives. For example, skin bacteria modify perfumes, producing distinct personal scents, illustrating the profound role microbes play in our daily existence.
4. Update the Narrative
| Old Narrative | New Narrative |
| Resistance in hospitals | Resilience in the body |
| Global catastrophe | Personal consciousness |
| Fear and war language | Wisdom and coexistence |
| Statistics and doom | Biology and human connection |
National and Global Measures
Indian Measures
- National Programme on AMR Containment (2012) and AMR Surveillance Network strengthen lab capacity and monitoring.
- National Action Plan on AMR (2017) promotes a One Health approach, integrating human, animal, and environmental health.
- Antibiotic Stewardship Programs (AMSP) optimize hospital antibiotic use.
- Research collaborations with Norway and Germany advance development of new antimicrobials.
- Regulation of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) bans inappropriate combinations.
Global Initiatives
- World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) promotes awareness among the public, health professionals, and policymakers.
- The WHO GLASS system tracks AMR in humans, animals, and the environment.
- Point Prevalence Surveys monitor prescribing patterns in hospitals to guide interventions.
Way Forward
- Public Education Campaigns: Local-language awareness programs explaining AMR and responsible antibiotic use.
- Antibiotic Stewardship Programs: Enforce hospital-based programs for judicious prescription.
- Regulation of Antibiotic Sales: Ensure prescription-only access to antibiotics.
- Expand Surveillance: Establish comprehensive monitoring in humans, animals, and the environment.
- Innovation in Treatments: Explore phage therapy, microbiome therapies, and new drugs.
- Narrative Shift: Move from fear-based messages to personal, empathetic, and positive storytelling.
Conclusion
AMR is both a biological and a storytelling challenge. Fear-based messages have lost impact; numbers alone fail to connect with human experience. By integrating science, empathy, and daily relevance, AMR can remain a living, urgent, and solvable challenge.
“Protect your good bugs — they protect you.”
Shifting from fear to connection may be the key to preserving health, medicine, and microbial harmony for generations.
UPSC Prelims- practice questions
Q1. Consider the following statements about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR):
- AMR refers to the ability of microorganisms to resist drugs used to treat infections.
- AMR only occurs in bacteria and not in viruses, fungi, or parasites.
- Microorganisms that develop AMR are often called “superbugs.”
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A) 1 and 2
B) 1 and 3
C) 2 and 3
D) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: B) 1 and 3
Explanation: AMR occurs in bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Statement 2 is incorrect.
Q2. The New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) enzyme:
A) Confers resistance to all known vaccines
B) Confers resistance to nearly all antibiotics, including last-resort drugs
C) Is a viral protein causing antibiotic resistance
D) Only affects fungal infections
Answer: B) Confers resistance to nearly all antibiotics, including last-resort drugs
Explanation: NDM is a bacterial enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to many antibiotics.