In the past 2024, antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic abuse have become a problem for national security, it became clear from the annual report of the National Agency for National Security and Defense. The topic in "The Day Begins" with Georgi Lyubenov was commented on by pharmacologist Prof. Georgi Momekov.
The problem in Bulgaria is that more antibiotics are used than the more difficult to access ones, since the mass ones no longer work, the professor explained.
"This is about a huge number of microorganisms, diseases and antibiotics. The WHO has classified antibiotics into one AWARE classification - whether they are available, whether they are ones that we need to monitor and whether they are reserve. The recommendation is that about 65% of infections should be treated with accessible antibiotics, because they are available, cheaper and with a better safety profile. In Bulgaria this percentage is 40, i.e. antibiotics are used to a much greater extent than reserve ones. Reserve means that they are used when nothing else works".
Addiction to antibiotics is a global phenomenon, but in Bulgaria the growth in one year is really very serious.
"Bacteria reproduce extremely quickly, give generations and when a mutation occurs that allows them to cope with antibiotics, this mutation quickly takes hold or spreads in the population. The more bacteria have access to this data, the more they begin to protect themselves".
Therefore, Prof. Momekov called - to use antibiotics less often, not to use them as sedatives.
"Regardless of the hard work of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, in Bulgaria this data is not used rationally - based on them a national strategy should be made on how we will use antibiotics. Some of the so-called. accessible antibiotics are disappearing, there are no new ones. The industry is not introducing new ones, and everything that appears on the market is for the treatment of life-threatening conditions. The resource we have must be protected like a precious stone".
According to him, new drugs appear that resemble the old ones, but it is difficult to find a new mechanism of action.