The workshop attracted more than 70 specialists in the field of healthcare, including government agencies from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, professionals from local hospitals such as the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases and the National Children's Hospital, as well as researchers and experts from research institutes and universities such as the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Hanoi Medical University, the University of Public Health, etc...
The workshop was timely organized as the rates of AMR in Vietnam are increasingly high, putting grave impacts on our public health system. In addition to the financial burden of prolonged treatments, AMR poses a serious threat to modern medicine where it becomes more challenging to treat infections, especially duringsurgical procedures and special treatments such as cancer chemotherapy and tissue transplantation.
At the workshop, experts discussed the current situation of antibiotic use in hospitals, health facilities and community, pointing out the current situation of drug resistance in Vietnam where the rate of AMR is among the highest in the world, where many bacteria are resistant to many antibiotics, and the cost of antibiotic usage is increasing. The causes of AMR in patients with COVID-19 were also discussed, including superinfection caused by SARS-COVI-2 virus and the reduced quality of care due to system overload. In the community, antibiotics are easily sold without a prescription and public awareness of AMR is low, making diagnosis and treatment increasingly challenging.
Experts and professionals also identified the challenges of the health sector in reducing antibiotic resistance, particularly due to a lack of regular and effective cross-sectoral coordination, a lack of investment in microbiology, as well as a lack of a future-ready workforce.
Workshop participants also made recommendations to combat AMR, including:
1. Strengthening internal and transdisciplinary connections:
a. Improving working mechanism within the medical and pharmaceutical fields: to support commune, district and provincial levels with expertise such as surveillance, testing and antibiotic use in the community.
b. Improving working mechanism cross disciplines: taking advantage of the strengths of different fields such as health, veterinary medicine, epidemiology to timely monitor and isolate and reduce the spread of dangerous pathogens
2. The role of microbiology is key in infection control at hospitals:
a. The importance of microbiological information sharing to assist doctors
b. Implementation of effective infection control through changes within the hospital
c. Working towards a common laboratory for a few provincial hospitals to share resources and data
3. Developing human resources to prepare for the future:
a. Promoting AMR at colleges and universities to prepare or future doctors and pharmacists
b. Introduction of AMR for primary and secondary students to build awareness of responsible antibiotic use in the community
c. Attract, nurture and develop staff working in microbiology and infectious diseases at hospitals
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a worldwide threat due to various causes including the misuse and abuse of antibiotics, the spread and transmission of infection or environmental pollution. In Vietnam, most health facilities are facing the spread of bacteria resistant to many antibiotics, especially in the 3rd and 4th generations of cephalosporin, as well as aminosides and fluoroquinolones.
Since 2013, the Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has launched a National Action Program on Antimicrobial Resistance to call on medical and veterinary staff to take action to combat AMR. The program offers practical activities to raise the awareness of local community and health workers about drug resistance, improve the national surveillance system, ensure the supply of quality drugs, increase the safe use of drugs, control infection, rational and safe use of antibiotics in agriculture and animal husbandry.