Vietnam’s Antibiotic Resistance Rate among Highest Worldwide

Vietnam has reported an alarming rate of antibiotic resistance, doctors said at a conference in Hanoi last week. Nguyen Vu Trung, deputy director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital, pointed out that that the resistance rate to carbapenems, the strongest group of antibiotics, has risen to 50%, mostly from gram-negative bacteria which have an impenetrable cell wall. Vietnam now ranks second out of 26 countries reporting data of carbapenem-resistant E.coli, after India, said Do Thuy Nga, a member of an Oxford study. Resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, another powerful group of drugs, has surged to more than 60% in the country, doctors at the conference noted. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed Vietnam among countries with the highest antibiotic-resistant infections. According to the Thanh Nien news online, Vietnam is also hit by several gram-negative gastrointestinal bacteria that resist all kinds of antibiotics in use. Doctors said the killer bugs are showing up faster than the introduction of new antibiotics. No new drugs have been launched since 2008. They said with the new drugs not coming any time soon, the public should protect themselves by using antibiotics with caution and only under prescriptions. Mr. Trung said the “improper” use of antibiotics is happening in both developing and developed countries, like the U.S. According to the Thanh Nien online news, Vietnam’s animal farming industry is using around 11 groups of antibiotics, some of which are for human treatment. Ms. Nga has suggested government ban the use of antibiotics in animal feeds and limit the use of antibiotics for pets. (Thanh Nien Nov 1)