Hyderabad: More and more children in the city are becoming insensitive to Azithromycin and Amoxicillin antibiotics for Mycoplasma pneumonia among other bacterial infections. Doctors said this trend of antibiotic resistance points to the ever-growing danger of Antimicrobial Resistance or silent pandemic driven by misuse and overuse of antibiotics.Key highlights:

1. Resistance to Common Antibiotics:

• Children infected with bacteria during the winter months have been responding less to Azithromycin and Amoxicillin.

• Senior pediatrician Dr. Sivaranjini Santosh warned that hospitalization and deaths would rise if this trend continues, due to the overuse of these antibiotics.

  2.  AMR as a Silent Pandemic:

• AMR is an emerging public health threat, driven by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, which may have catastrophic effects.

• Pediatric practice is emerging as an important frontline site where resistance is becoming evident, often worsened by misinformation and the injudicious prescriptions of antibiotics, believes Dr Ranga Reddy Burri, President, Infection Control Academy of India (ICAI).

  3.  Call for Immediate Action:

• The experts have called for public awareness campaigns, programs of physician stewardship and stricter regulation for sale of over-the-counter antibiotics to tackle AMR.

• A robust Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR) system must be established to address AMR alongside other critical pandemics.

Statements from Leaders:

• Dr. Sivaranjini Santosh, Senior Pediatrician:

"If antibiotic misuse continues, many antibiotics won’t work, leading to more hospitalizations and deaths. We must act now to prevent this crisis from worsening."

• Dr. Ranga Reddy Burri, President, ICAI:

"AMR may not trend like viral outbreaks on social media, but its consequences are far more devastating. We need sustainable efforts to tackle this silent pandemic."This growing antibiotic resistance among children serves as a bright red flag as to how imperative it has now become to check the spread of AMR. Improved public awareness, judicious use of antibiotics, and policy-driven restrictions on sales are integral steps toward stopping this burgeoning health crisis. With AMR looming, the danger of many infections being untreatable threatens the lives of thousands unless drastic steps are taken soon.