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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-08 Daily Xml
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MATTERS OF INTEREST

ANTIBIOTICS

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:21): I rise today to address the question—a drug question—a looming crisis in drug abuse in our community, and that is, the misuse of antibiotics. The discovery of antimicrobial drugs that we call antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials changed the course of medical and human history. These drugs were referred to as miracle cures when they were first developed in the late 1920s, and they have helped generations of people live longer and healthier lives. Now, due to the alarming levels of misuse and over-prescription of antimicrobial drugs, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era in which many common infections and diseases will no longer have a cheap and easy cure.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are dying each year around the world from infectious diseases and infections that are antibiotic resistant. For example, about 440,000 new cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis emerge annually, causing at least 150,000 deaths. Resistance to the earlier generation antimalarial medicines is now widespread in most malaria epidemic countries, particularly those in South-East Asia.

Antibiotic resistance is also an emerging concern for those living with HIV, as HIV-positive patients are at greater risk of developing serious bacterial infections such as bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotic resistance is also a serious issue in the treatment of gonorrhoea, while gains in reducing child deaths due to diarrhoea and respiratory infections are also now at risk.

Multi-drug resistant bacteria are a significant problem in hospitals. We are all well aware of the rise of so-called hospital superbug infections. Without effective antimicrobials to treat bacterial infections, the success of treatments such as organ transplantation, cancer chemotherapy and major surgery could be significantly compromised in the future.

While the misuse of antimicrobial drugs is a critical health and social issue, the financial implications are significant as well. Experts estimate that the annual cost of treating infections traceable to drug-resistant bacteria is more than $1 billion in Australia alone, $1.87 billion in the US, and $1.5 billion in the European Union.

This year the World Health Organisation launched its antimicrobial resistance campaign. It issued an international call for action to key stakeholders—international policymakers, governments, health professionals, pharmacists and the pharmaceutical industry—who must all play their part in turning this cycle of misuse around.

There are a couple of hurdles that will need to be overcome if as a community we are to successfully address this issue. First, we need to consider the use of antibiotics in the agricultural and food industries. It is estimated that Australia imports about 700 tonnes of antibiotics annually. More than half of that goes into stockfeed, about 8 per cent is for veterinary use, leaving only one-third for human use.

Antibiotics are given to healthy farm animals at low doses to promote faster growth and to compensate for unsanitary living conditions. The antibiotics are mixed into feed or water for pigs, cows, chickens and turkeys. It is easy to see how this might result in antibiotic resistant bacteria that are either dangerous to humans directly or dangerous because they might transfer their antibiotic resistance to dangerous human pathogens.

Secondly, we need to consider the role developing nations play in this issue. Antimicrobial resistance is particularly common in countries where prescriptions are unregulated and where you can buy antibiotics over the counter. Thirdly, we need to fund and support research into new antimicrobials, diagnostics and vaccines.

Financial incentives should be used to persuade drug companies to invest in the development of new antibiotics. For example, the Australian company Special Phage Holdings won the New South Wales government's 2008 BioFirst Commercialisation Award for the development of an innovative medical treatment for antibiotic resistant infections. We need to see more of this type of encouragement and support from our governments.

The simple truth is that drug resistance is already costing states and countries money and costing people their lives. If we do nothing the situation will only get worse. This is not an issue we can afford to let drift. I hope honourable members will join me in writing to the federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, calling for an updated review of Australia's antibiotic resistance program, which was set in place in the late 1990s under the name of the Joint Expert Technical Advisory Committee on Antibiotic Resistance, and requesting that the minister aggressively seek out opportunities to address this issue with the Australian community and with her international counterparts.

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