Dr Lee Tau Hong, Head, Antimicrobial Resistance Coordinating Office, Adjunct Associate Professor Lye Chien Boon, David, Senior Consultant, and Professor Leo Yee Sin, Executive Director, National Centre for Infectious Diseases, wrote in Lianhe Zaobao that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to humans. They wrote that bacteria can thrive in many environments because they can quickly adapt to changes in the environment. While antibiotics can eliminate most types of bacteria, a portion will develop resistance to antibiotics. If resistance becomes widespread, many antibiotics would become ineffective. Officials have estimated that 700,000 people have died from drug-resistant bacterial infections in 2016, globally. If the situation persists, antimicrobial resistance is expected to result in up to 10 million deaths each year by 2050. ​

Singapore has also joined the global action plan on Antimicrobial Resistance by announcing a National Strategic Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in November 2017. While the problem of antimicrobial resistance may be daunting, the writers opined that we will be able to address the issue if we can work together and cooperate in our efforts to combat the threat of AMR.

Read the full article (in Chinese) here.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.