Initiatives on antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing concern in both developed and developing countries worldwide. It is important to monitor resistant patterns regularly. The Philippines, through the leadership of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, has an on going strong surveillance system on antimicrobials in limited number of hospitals.

AMR arises mainly when the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs results to micro-organisms (such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa) that are no longer susceptible to the drugs or drug combinations normally used against the infections they cause. Drug resistance occurs when microbes adapt to survive in the presence of drug therapy. Although adaptation is a natural, evolutionary phenomenon, people hastened resistance to drugs through an often inappropriate use of antimicrobials.

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