Antibiotic Stewardship

The discovery of antibiotics had been one ofthe most significant events in the history of medicine.Antibiotics had saved countless number of lives andhad contributed significantly to the health of mankind.The emergence of resistance is however a major threatto the continued usefulness of antibiotics. There arenow strains of bacteria which are resistant to virtually allavailable antibiotics and these strains are increasinglybeing encountered in clinical practice. The developmentof new agents had not kept pace with resistance andit is unlikely that there will be major breakthroughsin the near future. The world needs to conserve andprolong the useful lives of the existing agents. This canonly be achieved through good antibiotic stewardshipprogrammes. As antibiotic resistance is a global threatall major stakeholders have to work together to meetthis challenge.