In celebration of the world antimicrobial resistance week, the newly created Antimicrobial Resistance Club, OAU held a public lecture themed ‘Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together’ on Friday, 24th of November. Earlier on Thursday, 23rd of November, the club held an awareness walk around the halls of residence on campus to spread around the OAU community, the dangers of antimicrobial resistance and invite people to the public lecture to gain more insights.
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Prof. Aboderin, the keynote speaker, speaking on the topic ‘AMR: A Quintessential One Health and Developmental Challenge’, emphasized the global threat of AMR which has caused about 5 million deaths globally, and is the leading cause of death in Nigeria, killing more people than HIV, enteric infections and malaria.
He said ‘We assumed we were going to close the chapter on infectious disease, but little did we know about what was coming after…If resistance is not addressed, the number of people who are going to die from AMR will reach about 10 million by 2050’.
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Prof. Aboderin, who is also a UK Fleming Fund AMR Policy Advisory Fellow for Human Health in Nigeria, expressed satisfaction at the success of the AMR awareness outreach of the club, explaining that such initiatives are what the UK Fleming Fund to educate and combat the perils of AMR, of which Nigeria is a beneficiary, aims to support.
As the Chairman of the Nigeria Technical Working Group on AMR, he added that the club activities on the OAU campus are complemented by the global scale efforts of WHO through her Global Action Plan, at the national scale by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Action Plan for AMR, at the state level by the AMR assessment efforts by the Osun State Government, and at the clinic level by the OAUTHC’s Policy on Antimicrobial Resistance.
During the Panel Session, Dr Bukola, a Veterinary consultant for Zoological Gardens and the Teaching and Research Farm OAU, emphasized that animals use more antibiotics than humans because of their short lifespan and vulnerability and that these AMR microbes could be transmitted zoonotically.
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To address the challenge AMR poses, Dr Muteeat, Consultant Clinical And Public Health Pharmacist, State Specialist Hospital Asubairo, Osogbo, said recognizing the problem and educating people about it is the first step. She also berated how healthcare practitioners are contributing to the problem. Highlighting what steps Primary and Secondary Health Care Centers are taking to control it, Mr. Ezeikel, Director Environmental Health Department, OAUTHC, also decried how pollution contributes to the rapid spread of AMR in Nigeria.
Speaking on the myths surrounding AMR, Prof. Aboderin explained that it is not the human body that develops this resistance, but the microbes themselves.
Dr. Bukola, in his stead, posited that antibiotics are not a ‘cure-all-drug’, clarifying that they should be used only when there is an indication of infection.
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Also, Dr. Adeyemo, Consultant Clinical Microbiologist OAUTHC, identified that clinicians’ administration of antibiotics for viral diseases, common cold, and catarrh is an improper use of them, adding that it affects the equilibrium of the normal biotic community in the human system.
Furthermore, Prof. Aboderin berated the excessive use of prophylaxis for surgeries in Africa, indicating that misuse of antibiotics has now become a behavioral problem, and a means of covering up existential issues of malnutrition, improper hygiene and sanitation, and inadequate water supply. In his words, ‘We use antibiotics to cover the faults in the failure of our healthcare system’.
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Speaking at the close of the event, Azodo Chukwuemeka, a 400-level Medical Student, a member of the club, and Team Lead for the event, expressed satisfaction at the success of the lecture.
“We were enthusiastic about this program, and by God’s grace, it came up as we planned and was a great success. The essence of the program is to educate the general public on the use of antibiotics because currently, we have noticed that some antibiotics are no longer functioning the way they ought to. For example, we know right from the onset we use metronidazole for diarrhea, but nowadays it no longer functions in people’s bodies, hence the need to come up with a program like this to educate people on why there is resistance towards antibiotics.”
Also, Oluwapelumi, a 100-level Medical student, explaining what he gained from the lecture, said ‘I understand the prevalence rate of AMR on global and National level. AMR has caused over 4.95 billion deaths so far and is even the most death-causing disease in Nigeria. AMR is not developed in humans only, it also develops in animals and affects almost every sector of the economy. The pharmacist developing a drug that can cure antimicrobial resistance is like creating a cure for all diseases, and that is still a form of fantasy. Hence, the best innovative solution for now is to create a massive public awareness to inform people about these threats and how they contribute to it’.