Children not responding to routine antibiotics in Hyderabad, say doctors

Pediatric practice, in particular, is a frontline battleground where this resistance is becoming evident, often compounded by misinformation and misguided antibiotic prescriptions, says health expert

Hyderabad: A large number of children in Hyderabad with common cold due to bacteria (Mycoplasma pneumonia) during the ongoing winter season are not responding to Azithromycin and Amoxicillin, the most common antibiotics prescribed by paediatricians for infections of bacterial-origin.

“We as a pediatric community see Azee (Azithromycin)/Augmentin (Amoxicillin Clavulanate) being abused. So, this time, Azithromycin didn’t work for some children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. If this abuse goes on, many antibiotics won’t work, and we will see more and more hospitalizations and deaths,” warns senior pediatrician from Hyderabad, Dr Sivaranjini Santosh.

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The scenario with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and azithromycin resistance is a reminder of the consequences of widespread antibiotic misuse, which are unfolding before us in the form of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). There is an urgent need to act,” says president, Infection Control Academy of India (ICAI), Dr Ranga Reddy Burri.

Without immediate intervention, we risk losing more lives to conditions that were once treatable. Pediatric practice, in particular, is a frontline battleground where this resistance is becoming evident, often compounded by misinformation and misguided antibiotic prescriptions, the senior public health specialist from Hyderabad, Dr Ranga Reddy said.

AMR is a silent and a much-neglected pandemic that has already begun affecting the efficacy of our antibiotic arsenal.  AMR may not trend like viral outbreaks on social media, but its consequences are far more devastating, he said.

Dr Ranga Reddy pointed out that there was a need to channel collective efforts toward establishing a sustainable and robust Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR) system, which will prioritize addressing the overlooked but critical pandemics like AMR. Some of the strategies to find AMR should be public awareness, physician stewardship programs, and policy-driven restrictions on over-the-counter antibiotic sales, he added.