The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has called on the Pharmacy Council and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to tighten regulation on medicines used to prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants to ensure that only those who have prescriptions can access them.
Also, such medicines, technically known as antimicrobials, should be available only to pharmacies which are the only entities allowed to stock and dispense them.
It said antimicrobials, which include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics, should never be treated like over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.
The PSGH stressed that OTC medicine sellers, popularly referred to as drug stores or chemical sellers, should immediately stop stocking, dispensing or selling antibiotics as that was prohibited by law.
“We, therefore, call on the Pharmacy Council and the FDA to ensure that the necessary laws and regulations are enforced and antibiotics are dispensed only in pharmacies by pharmacists as the law requires,” it said.
This was contained in a message entitled: “Call to action on the management and use of antimicrobials”.
It was read by the President of PSGH, Dr Samuel Kow Donkoh, in Accra last Thursday, November 23, as part of activities to commemorate the 2023 World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week.
For the Ghana Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA), the situation called for intense education on the proper use of antibiotics so that their usage does not compromise the system of individuals.
Professor Raphael Folitse of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Veterinary Medicine, who made the call at the 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 24th Biennial Conference of GVMA, said research by scientists had revealed that people would die every three seconds by the year 2050 if nothing was done to address the abuse of antibiotics.
Antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when disease-causing germs stop responding to frequently prescribed antimicrobial medicines.
This jeopardises the ability to treat common infections, increases the cost of treatment, disrupts the progress made in combating diseases, posing a grave challenge to communities, health systems and economies.
Every year, the international community observes World AMR Awareness Week from November 18 to 24 to raise awareness of the risks posed by the inappropriate use of antimicrobial medicines in humans, animals and crops and encourage their responsible use to reduce the emergence and spread of AMR.
The theme for this year is, ‘Preventing antimicrobial resistance together’.
Cold, cough, flu
Dr Donkoh further urged the general public to desist from taking antibiotics to treat cold and flu symptoms.
“When you have a cough, cold and sore throat, antibiotics should not be your first choice. Do not go to your doctor, pharmacist, OTC seller, demanding antibiotics for treatment of cough and sore throat,” he said.
“OTC medications are adequate to help relieve most of these symptoms. These conditions are not conditions to be managed by antibiotics as we do presently,” Dr Donkoh advised.
Giving similar advice on antimalarial medications, he said until the patients had tested and proven that they were positive for malaria, they should not take antimalarial treatment, as stated in the national policy.
Citing antimalarial medication among antimicrobials, the president of the PSGH said if people did not stick to the principles and policies guiding those medications, they would end up having resistance, just as it had been with previous antimalarial medications such as chloroquine, sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine, commonly sold under the name Fansidar.
He said when that happened, it would be difficult to tell what the future would be for the treatment of the ailment, especially because very few investment was going into the discovery and development of new classes of antimicrobials.
Developing new antibiotics
Dr Donkoh explained that the process of developing a new antibiotic was time-consuming and financially burdensome, as it took about 10 to 15 years, cost over $1 billion.
That dearth of innovation, the PSGH president pointed out, made them vulnerable as the arsenal against microbial infections stagnated in the face of evolving AMR threats.
“In the face of these staggering figures, it is evident that we stand at a critical juncture. Our response to AMR must, therefore, be swift, coordinated and unwavering,” Dr Donkoh stated.
As the country joins the world to commemorate the 2023 World AMR Awareness Week, he reminded all that everyday choices of today would shape the health and well-being of generations to come.
“This is the admonition from the PSGH and a practical one to all patients that do not use the antimicrobials indiscriminately,” Dr Donkoh stressed.
He said the society would collaborate with stakeholders and the media to implement policies and content on adhering to infection prevention and control interventions.
