Scarlet Fever AMR Alert

Asia and parts of the UK are experiencing a resurgence of scarlet fever, highlighting the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) right at the beginning of Antibiotic Awareness Week, says the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

Although the childhood disease had almost disappeared over the past century, scarlet fever has reared its head in more than 5,000 cases in Hong Kong, 100,000 cases in China and almost 15,000 in England over the past five years, according to an international study published in Scientific Reports.  PSA president Joe Demartesaid these findings reinforce the importance of the Society’s efforts, through the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) for pharmacists to drive antibiotic stewardship.

“These scarlet fever outbreaks confirm that bacterial evolution is ongoing,” Demarte said.  “Researchers studied the genomes from the Hong Kong and China scarlet fever outbreak strains.  “They found that these strains
carried modified genetic elements including the expression of a new super antigen and resistance to tetracycline, erythromycin and clindamycin,” he added.

Demarte also encouraged pharmacists to promote education about AMR, to lobby governments to establish strategies to combat AMR locally, to support optimal use of antibiotics and the development of new antibiotics.

NPS MedicineWise released new data around people’s perceptions and requests for antibiotics, revealing details of a recent survey showing 13% of people would ask their doctor for antibiotics when they had a cold or flu, down from 17% last year.  NPS ceo Lynn Weekes also revealed over 28,000 Australian GPs will this week receive a letter showing their recent oral antibiotic prescribing patterns, along with a comparison to that of their peers.

Source: pharmacydaily.com.au, Tuesday 17 November 2015