Antibiotics as we know them are used in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections and are deemed a medical marvel because of the huge way they transformed modern medicine.
However, by routinely prescribing these category of drugs for infections that they do not treat, or for which they are not needed in the first place, has resulted in the emergence of untreatable “superbugs” that threaten the basis of modern medicine.
So bad is the situation that early this year, the World Health Organisation warned that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health.
Overuse and misuse of otherwise good drugs has “encouraged” germs (bacteria) to evolve and develop resistance. One classical case about a growing scourge is the fast spreading resistance to antimalarial drugs in Southeast Asia and there is fear that this resistance has started spreading to some parts of Africa.
This session will explore how journalists and scientists can use data to call attention to this ongoing global crisis, and how developing countries like Kenya can prevent this spread.
