…”Turning Heartbreak into Action: A Father’s Quest to Stop the Silent Pandemic”

CATHERINE MUROMBEDZI
HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

Misuse and overuse of medicines is making disease-causing microbes drug-resistant – as a result of which easier to treat infections are becoming difficult to treat or even incurable. This is also referred as Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) which is among the top-10 global health threats today.
In a bid to amplify antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a health-conscious media organization from India, CNS, has rallied up the global media in forming a group of health journalists, raising awareness on AMR. The Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA) is an open forum that works to raise awareness and increase engagement of journalists and other media actors globally on AMR and related issues. It holds monthly virtual meetings where survivors of AMR, youth, medical experts, and journalists converge to learn and share. The writer is a founding member of GAMA.
There are four global agencies that have joined hands too to combat AMR: these are referred to as quadripartite agencies: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
AMR can impact any one of us.
When we, the outside world, look at health workers, we assume they are our saviours to our health challenges. For a doctor to open up and say this was beyond comprehension is an awakening call.
A father’s call to AMR awareness helps the world to understand the gravity of AMR.
Felix Liauw, a pediatrician in Jakarta, Indonesia, speaking in a GAMA virtual AMR awareness meeting, brought reality closer home. The time to act on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now. The silent pandemic has gathered a storm unseen by the naked eye.
Felix and his wife had been waiting for what felt like an eternity to welcome their little bundle of joy into the world. After seven-long-years of trying, their son Obelix finally arrived. But their happiness was short-lived.
“From the moment Obelix was born, it was clear that something was wrong. He struggled to breathe, and his tiny body was in pain. He vomited and had diarrhea. We were worried,” said Felix in the virtual meeting.
The couple rushed with the baby to the hospital.
“The doctors whisked Obelix away to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he was diagnosed with a severe infection. We were devastated. We had never felt so helpless. The medical team prescribed round, after round, of antibiotics, but Obelix just wasn’t getting better. Two months went by, and the little boy’s condition remained unchanged,” said Felix.
Felix and his wife were at their wit’s end seeing their boy suffer.
As a pediatrician, Felix had seen countless families experience the joy of taking their healthy babies home. He had witnessed the beaming smiles, the tears of happiness, and the sense of relief that came with knowing their little one was thriving. But now, as he sat by Obelix’s side, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy and pain. Why couldn’t that be him and his wife, taking their happy, healthy baby home?
They couldn’t understand why the antibiotics weren’t working.
Was the infection resistant to the medication?
Was there something else going on that the doctors hadn’t diagnosed?
The questions swirled in their minds, keeping them up at night.
As they sat by Obelix’s side, holding his tiny hand and willing him to get better, Felix and his wife knew they had to keep fighting. They would do whatever it was in order to give their son a chance to live. But for now, all they could do was wait and hope.
“Blood tests later showed that Obelix’s problems were from a rare condition called congenital short bowel syndrome, which was probably caused by a genetic mutation. It leads to repeated infections and abdominal problems,” said Felix. For this reason, Obelix was resistant to antibiotics.
“We decided to take our son home and care for him there. But after two weeks, we lost him due to sepsis. It was the most depressing time in our lives. Working as a doctor, I saw endless happy parents. But I couldn’t have that same feeling of joy, taking a healthy baby home. Every time, I questioned, ‘Why me?’”
Obelix succumbed to an infection with bacteria that could not be treated. Obelix’s life was tragically cut short by sepsis, a devastating consequence of an infection that was resistant to treatment. The bacteria that took his life had developed resistance to existing antibiotics, a stark reminder of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
“Proper diagnosis should be made before giving antibiotics,” he urged.
However, lack of adequate laboratories makes it hard to identify the cause of illness in resource limiting facilities.
Most doctors prescribe drugs without having run any tests at all. They just prescribe antibiotics that are in the pharmacy inventory.
The proper medical route is to run tests and establish which drugs to use.
Felix is convinced that Obelix could have contracted the deadly infection in the hospital. There is an urgent need for improved infection control and hygiene practices in healthcare settings in middle – and low income countries worldwide.
In the silence that followed, Felix vowed to make sure Obelix’s death would not be in vain. He would raise awareness about the dangers of AMR and fight for a world where no parent would have to watch their child succumb to an untreatable infection.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when pathogens no longer respond to existing drugs. AMR is nicknamed superbugs. It is a growing problem. Many of the victims are children in poor countries.
The UN General Assembly will convene a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) for the second time during its 79th session (UNGA 79) in New York on 26 September 2024.
“Drug-resistant infections know no borders, meaning no single country can respond to AMR alone,” is the mantra.
The time to invest in the present and securing our future together is now. The time to act is now. Accelerating multi-sectoral global, regional, and national actions to address antimicrobial resistance.
The WHO reports that AMR is one of the top global public health and development threats. It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.
Above shows that AMR is a growing silent threat.
The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and plants are the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance.
AMR can lead to complicated infections, such as abscesses or infected devices, which can increase the risk of sepsis.
In cases where AMR has rendered standard antibiotics ineffective, treatment options may be limited, making it more challenging to prevent sepsis.
In Obelix’s case, the fact that his infection was resistant to treatment suggests that AMR played a role in his development of sepsis, which ultimately led to his tragic outcome.
AMR puts many of the gains of modern medicine at risk. It makes infections harder to treat and makes other medical procedures and treatments – such as surgery, cesarean sections, and cancer chemotherapy – much riskier.
For anyone taking antibiotics, please complete your course so as to cut off drug resistance.

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