Chinese experts warn against threat of antibiotic resistance

BEIJING -- Chinese experts have suggested regulating the use of antimicrobial drugs nationwide in response to threat of antibiotic resistance.

The National Health Commission (NHC) issued a circular this March, requiring measures to contain the fast increasing antimicrobial resistance of carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotics.

A 2017 report suggests that 20.7 percent of commonly existing pseudomonas aeruginosa and 56.1 percent of acinetobacter baumannii, which are likely to cause infections in hospitals, are resistant to carbapenems.

Failure to prevent or control antibiotic resistance will lead to difficulties in curing commonplace infections, longer hospital stays and even increased mortality, experts said.

Doctors should prescribe suitable antibiotics of appropriate doses, and hospitals should put guidelines on infection prevention and control into effect, said Yang Xiaoqiang, an expert with the NHC.

Liu Xiaolin, deputy general secretary of the Chinese Pharmacists Association, suggested efforts to improve supervision of the clinical use of antimicrobial drugs.