Jakarta (ANTARA News) - World Health Organization (WHO) data show that 150,000 people out of 440,000 tuberculosis sufferers in Indonesia died each year for misusing antibiotics, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said here on Thursday.
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| Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih. (ANTARA News/Rosa Panggabean) |
Speaking at a seminar on the Use of Antibiotics Appropriately to Prevent Bacterial Immunity, the minister said in 2009 Indonesia was eighth among countries with Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) cases caused by the misuse of antibiotics. Of this number, she said, 6,395 new TB cases had been predicted to appear in Indonesia every year.
However, the minister said that misuse of antibiotic also happened in other countries that WHO had announced the slogan Use Antibiotics Rationally as the theme of this year`s World Health Day.
Endang said antibiotics must be used appropriately to prevent body resistance against drugs since it would cause negative effects (especially to those with contagious diseases) such as longer period of infection or bad clinical condition.
To reduce the number of antibiotic misuse in Indonesia, Endang said her ministry had published a General Guidance Book for Antibiotic Use expected to be useful in giving health care services in Indonesia.
The minister also suggested people to use antibiotics wisely and follow doctor`s prescriptions.
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is defined as TB resistant at least to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP), the two most powerful first-line anti-TB drugs. Isolates that are multiply-resistant to any other combination of anti-TB drugs but not to INH and RMP which are not categorized as MDR-TB.
MDR-TB develops during treatment of fully-sensitive TB when the course of antibiotics is interrupted and the levels of drugs in the body are insufficient to kill 100% of the bacteria. This can happen for a number of reasons: Patients may feel better and halt their antibiotic consumption, drug supplies may run out or become scarce, or patients may forget to take their medication from time to time. MDR-TB is spread from person to person as readily as drug-sensitive TB and in the same manner.
