1705121482
Antibiotic resistance causes 300 deaths in Switzerland and 1.3 million worldwide every year. Infections that have become commonplace with the invention of antibiotics are once again becoming fatal. What consequences does this silent threat have for our healthcare system? On our life expectancy? And what can we do at our level?
Antibiotic resistance, what changes for you? / What does this change for you? / 4 mins / Wednesday at 5:23 p.m
The discovery of antibiotics in the mid-20th century increased our life expectancy by 15 years. That’s more than the five years a cancer drug would give us. Problem: With the increasing use of antibiotics, bacteria have adapted and become resistant to this treatment.
It scared me, it scared me a lot (…) If one day I need antibiotics or antibiotic treatment for something more serious and I’m resistant, what will I be like? Will I be treated?
Natacha Romano, on RTS on June 19, 2020.
>> Review of the topic of antibiotic resistance: Antibiotic resistance is causing more and more problems in the treatment of patients / News in the video / 2 min. / June 19, 2020
The German-speaking European champions
Over the last ten years, antibiotic consumption in Switzerland has fallen by more than a third. The German-speaking part of the country has even become the region of Europe with the lowest consumption. The French-speaking Swiss fare less well. According to 2021 insurance data, all French-speaking cantons are above the national average and Geneva has the largest difference with a gap of 45%.
“It is clear and obvious, there are socio-cultural differences, it is not the case that there are more infections here in French-speaking Switzerland. There are questions of faith and also questions of demand,” says Stephan Harbarth, chief physician in the infection prevention and control department at the HUG, in the 7:30 p.m.
>> Read also: In Geneva, the appetite for antibiotics strengthens the bacteria
The cultural and geographical proximity to France, a country in which significantly more antibiotics are consumed than in Germany, also explains the phenomenon, as does the fact that German-speaking people more easily resort to alternative medicine. Consequence: more resistance on this side of the Röstigraben. For the E.coli bacteria in Geneva, for example, it is 9 points more, still compared to the Swiss average.
>> Read also: Appenzell Ausserrhoden, paradise for alternative medicine and small bonuses
Little research
However, there is no real significant investment in research into new antibiotics. Thierry Mauvernay explained this as follows: “There is no business model. If you want to find good antibiotics, it’s actually possible that there are only a very small number of people using them and so it’s really against the law of the market. Furthermore, all of these infections are developed in developing countries.”
One solution would be for states to assume the financial risk of this research. There are concrete projects in the USA and Great Britain, but they are not a priority. But after Covid-19, we now know the price of a pandemic: the IMF estimates it at $10,000 to $15,000 billion.
>> Watch the interview with Thierry Mauvernay from September 8, 2023 in the forum: How can we address the shortage of antibiotics? Interview with Thierry Mauvernay / Forum / 6 min / September 8, 2023
Bacteria-eating viruses
The success of reliable and effective antibiotics has made us forget the earlier discoveries of bacteriophages or bacteria-eating viruses. Today, the resistance brings them up to date. Last June in Geneva, a phage saved a 41-year-old patient who suffered from chronic lung disease and was resistant to antibiotics.
“During the administration of this phage, I was dying. Ultimately, this bacteria would have taken me away (…) I am living proof that it works,” said José Maria Vidal.
>> Read: In HUG, bacteria-eating viruses save a patient who was considered lost
“We took our patients’ strains and tested the available European and then the American phage banks to find the phage capable of killing the bacteria that infected our patient,” explains Christian Van Delden, resident physician in the department for infectious diseases at HUGGING.
>> The full interview with Christian van Delden in the forum:
Are viruses the new weapon against antibiotic resistance? Interview with Christian van Delden / Forum / 5 min. / June 27, 2023
And in this case, no side effects were observed in the patient. The bacteria became neither more resistant nor more virulent after treatment. The phage disappeared as it ate the bacteria. After his recovery, José Maria Vidal became an ambassador for this type of treatment, which today is used exclusively experimentally and as a last resort.
>> See topic at 7:30 p.m.: Antibiotic resistance causes 300 deaths per year in Switzerland. The solution could be bacteriophage viruses / 7:30 p.m. / 2 min. / November 23, 2023
And you in all this?
Since 2015, Switzerland has had a national strategy to combat antibiotic resistance in the environment, animal health and human health, where you play an important role.
If your doctor has prescribed antibiotics, follow the dosage exactly, do not miss a dose, do not share your tablets with others and return opened packs.
Never take it for self-medication, it is risky and can lead to resistance.
Claire Burgy
#Antibiotic #resistance #rts.ch