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    Can Kerala's antibiotic abuse project inspire India's antimicrobial resistance fight?

    AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and cease to respond to drugs, making infections harder to treat and increasing the chances of illness severity and even death.

    Synopsis

    In 2019, nearly 300,000 deaths in India were due to AMR. Over 1 million deaths were linked to drug resistance, making infections more challenging to treat. Kerala initiated an AMR action plan in 2018. However, analysts say that Kerala’s approach might not be directly applicable to other states, where access to antibiotics is itself an issue.

    Why are you telling us all this? We only follow what the doctors prescribe!” When Ajith KS, a health inspector at a family health centre (FHC) in Palakkad, Kerala, and his colleagues fanned out to tell the local community about the dangers of the inappropriate use of antibiotics, this was a typical response from many residents, who bristled at their intervention. Ozhalapathy—where the FHC is located—is a village in the shadow of the Western
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    The Economic Times