Every year, misuse and unnecessary use of antibiotics leads to antimicrobial resistance(AMR), resulting in millions of avoidable deaths globally. In a new study, the World Health Organization (WHO) stresses that widespread use of existing and new vaccinations can play a vital role in curbing this growing threat.
The report analyzed 24 common infectious diseases and found that vaccinations against them could potentially reduce global antibiotic usage by approximately 2.5 billion doses per year – a reduction of 22%. Diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, typhoid and malaria often lead to inappropriate antibiotic prescription even when not warranted. However, effective vaccination drives can prevent a large number of such infections itself.
For example, currently available pneumococcal, Hib and typhoid vaccines alone can help avert over 100,000 AMR-linked deaths annually. Development of new TB and Klebsiella pneumoniae jabs can further avoid 543,000 deaths each year in the future. Additionally, ensuring 90% immunization coverage targeted at children and elders will lessen Streptococcus pneumonia antibiotic use by 33 million doses per year. Typhoid shots can cut 45 million doses while malaria vaccines may reduce inappropriate prescriptions by 25 million.
Most significantly, prospective TB vaccines – when available – have the capability to curb 1.2 to 1.9 billion antibiotic consumption globally, as per the analysis. This will undoubtedly support global commitments to reduce annual fatalities from drug-resistant bacterial infections by 10% before 2030. The study underlines immunization as a foremost solution to simultaneously battle the impending AMR crisis and associated healthcare costs. It calls for augmenting availability of existing protective shots and speeding up novel vaccine R&D for critical pathogens.
