Topic:
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Tristan Ernst-Hodys
Delegate:Tristan Ernst-Hodys
Country:Brazil
Committee:WHO ECOSOC
Antibiotic resistance is a major health issue and a top priority for not only Brazil, but the WHO at large. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria adapt to antibiotics. When a resistant bacterium infects a human or animal, the carrier becomes much harder to treat and cure. Antibiotic resistance leads to higher healthcare expenditure, longer stays in the hospital and a higher death rate. With planes and other travel options antibiotic resistance has exploded all throughout the world. It is one of the biggest health concerns of our times. Antibiotic resistance occurs due to a wide variety of factors including the misuse and overuse of antibiotics and poor infection prevention and control. In the past the UN has established The Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS), Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) and Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (IACG) all to combat antibiotic resistance. Though these measures are helping, the issue is far from solved.
Brazil has a long-time surveillance program led by the National Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) that compiles data from Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). Since 2014, ANVISA has been engaged in the collection and interpretation of institutional information from all hospitals with ICU beds regarding HAIs. A special focus is placed on catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI) and their microbial resistance markers. In 2017, 72% of Brazilian hospitals participated, offering laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection information.
In December of 2017, the Brazilian Ministry of Health began participating in the WHO’s GLASS program (Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System). The Department Of Strategic Actions in Health Surveillance (DAEVS) was designated as the National Coordination Center of the National Surveillance Program on Antimicrobial Resistance (BR-GLASS). The GLASS Program utilizes a different methodology for data collection and analysis than the ANVISA program: GLASS is more comprehensive and includes resistance information of isolates from both inpatients and outpatients. Another key component is the usage of dashboards to be able to provide real-time feedback for related health services. For thirteen months (December 2017—December 2018), a multi-professional team of microbiologists, infectious disease control personnel, Information Technology specialists, and Statistics experts elaborated a strategic plan for initiating (BR-GLASS).
Brazil believes that more member states need to create their own GLASS program so that their countries can have more comprehensive antibiotic resistance data. Brazil also believes that creating an initiative to educate medical professionals on when to give antibiotics and when not to would be extremely helpful. Brazil believes that by following these recommendations the world would make huge strides in combating antibiotic resistance.
