Global Experts to address Antimicrobial Resistance Challenge at IIT KGP

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Antimicrobial Resistance is one of the most crucial challenges faced by the healthcare industry. In the 21st century, germs are evolving resistance to drugs at a faster rate which has now been identified as a severe global threat. A major contributor to this issue has been our malpractices of antibiotic use, be it not finishing the entire antibiotic course or over-prescription of antibiotics for human patients or in livestock and pisciculture. This is further aggravated by poor infection control in health care settings, poor hygiene and sanitation, and the absence of the rapid development of antibiotic drugs. Moreover, evolution might lead to the appearance of new drug-resistant microbes that will pose a huge impact on the treatment of the patients.

Researchers from the Dept. of Biotechnology at IIT Kharagpur are making efforts to address such issues in a global forum with the focus on antimicrobial chemotherapy and the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. In this regard, the Institute is organizing the 2nd International Conference on Contemporary Antimicrobial Research (ICCAR-2018) in collaboration with the Society for Antimicrobial Research (SAR), India. Experts from across UK, USA, South Korea, and several EU nations are participating in the conference to address the issues related to the know-how to handle these resistant micro-organisms clinically so that the average human life expectancy can at least be maintained, if not increased.

The thrust areas include antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, evolution and propagation of antimicrobial resistance, new target identification, prospective antimicrobial therapeutics, structure-based drug design, clinical aspects of handling antimicrobial resistance and novel detection methods & antimicrobial resistance.

“Further support is required though in creating awareness among people at large about the pros and cons of the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials. This would reduce drug abuse and misuse, thus bringing down the adverse effect on future antimicrobial therapy,” opined Prof. Anindya S Ghosh, faculty at IIT Kharagpur and Convenor of handling & co-ordination, ICCAR-2018.

Prof. Ghosh further mentioned that efforts are already being undertaken by the healthcare industry and drug manufacturers in developing new drug molecules, introducing combination therapy, repurposing of already existing drugs, adding new and useful drug delivery systems to address the issue at drug research and medical advisory level.

By Shreyoshi Ghosh

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