May 18, 2022, SEOUL, Republic of Korea – Today, the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and the Ministry of Health, and Family Welfare (MOHFW) of Bangladesh shared key findings from the Capturing data on Antimicrobial resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project.
CAPTURA is an IVI-led initiative to increase the volume and quality of data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), consumption (AMC), and use (AMU) in South and Southeast Asia – funded by The Fleming Fund, a UK Aid programme working in partnership with Mott MacDonald.
IVI is an international organization with the mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health. Led by IVI, the National Dissemination Workshop held in Dhaka reviewed the last two years of key CAPTURA activities in Bangladesh.
The research findings will help the government of Bangladesh form evidence-based policies and practices to contain AMR, which is a critical and growing threat to global public health. The project resulted in the following key accomplishments:
- Identification of historical and current data on AMR, AMC, and AMU
- Collation and analysis of 4 years of retrospective AMR/U data from 34 laboratories (11 public and 23 private) and 5 pharmacies (all private model pharmacies)
- Comprehensive capacity-building activities to optimize local data management practices and encourage data sharing at the national, regional, and global levels
- More than one million records of AST data were identified and digitized, where necessary, collected, and analysed
- coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus, Salmonella Typhi and Acinetobacter spp. were the most frequently isolated bacteria
- No major change in susceptibility patterns were observed in coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the country over the last 4 years
- Multidrug Resistance (MDR), possible Extensive Drug Resistance (XDR), and Pan-Drug Resistance (PDR) is prevalent and needs close monitoring to prevent potential spread
- WHO Global Priority List of Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria were also observed to be prevalent in some settings in the country
- A gap in internal and external quality assessment has been observed in majority of the labs, which needs to be addressed to ensure validity of AMR data being generated in the country
“No clinicians should be able to prescribe antibiotics without reason. Our goal is to reduce the antibiotics being consumed without prescriptions and to stop prescriptions being written by non-clinicians” said Prof. Dr. Ahmedul Kabir, ADG (Administration), DGHS, MOHFW, Bangladesh.
“We will be able to use the findings from the CAPTURA project to establish an improved surveillance system in Bangladesh” said Major General Mohammad Yousuf, Director General of DGDA, MOHFW, Bangladesh.
The CAPTURA research, in collaboration with MOHFW, significantly contributed to establishing a working baseline on national laboratory and surveillance capacities. The initiative provided insights to inform the development of a systematic and progressive pathway for retaining and sustaining these capacities; and engendered greater collaboration and trust between the public and private healthcare sectors.
“Identifying the gaps and opportunities for improvement in collecting, sharing, and using enhanced-quality data is an essential resource for AMR surveillance — a key component of the CAPTURA project”, said Dr Nimesh Poudyal, Project Lead of CAPTURA. He added, “We’re grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for their partnership in this important effort to develop the groundwork for effective and sustainable strategies to stop the spread of antimicrobial resistance, as well as to our partner laboratories and pharmacies for their close engagement.”
CAPTURA activities in Bangladesh were completed in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health Services, Directorate General Drug Administration, and MOHFW of Bangladesh. This work was supported by the Fleming Fund Regional Grants.
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About the International Vaccine Institute
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a nonprofit inter-governmental organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, IVI was the first international organization hosted by Korea. IVI has 39 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on its treaty, including Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland as state funders.
Our mandate is to make vaccines available and accessible for the world’s most vulnerable people. We focus on infectious diseases of global health importance such as cholera, typhoid, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, Group A Strep, Hepatitis A, HPV, TB, HIV, MERS, COVID-19, as well as antimicrobial resistance. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int
About the Fleming Fund
The Fleming Fund is a UK aid investment to tackle antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries around the world – managed by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with Mott MacDonald, the Fleming Fund Grants Management Agent.