ASSESSING HOW IDENTIFICATION OF ORAL ANTIBIOTICS IMPACTS APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY ANTIBIOTIC USE IN LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES

January 9, 2019 | Ongoing Project | Reading time: 5 min

Study Team : Dr. Kwaku Poku Asante, Dr. Samuel Afari-Asiedu, Martha Ali Abdulai, Theresa Tawiah, Dr. Dennis Adu Gyasi, Latifatu Abubakar Alhassan and Kingsley Kayan

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is still a threat to global health with disproportionately high burden in low and middle income countries (LMIC) largely due to inappropraite antibiotic access and use. Findings from an earlier study (ABACUS-Scientific Publications – ABACUS project (abacus-project.org) shows that appearance of antibiotics due to colour, shape and size could lead to their misidentification among consumers and dispensers leading to inappropraite use.

Following the findings from the previous study, the team through another Wellcome Trust initiative ABACUS II (ABACUS II project) is building a case for an international system that harmonizes the appearance and thus improves recognition of oral solid antibiotics for consumers and dispensers, taking into account the appearance of other drugs. ABACUS II is exploring the feasibility, benefits, disadvantages and potential design of an international, standardised appearance system for oral antibiotics

Appropriate identification of antibiotics could reduce inappropriate use among consumers and dispensers. The study funded by Wellcome trust, UK is currently ongoing in two low income countries (Mozambique and Bangladesh), two low and middle income countries (Ghana and Vietnam), two upper middle iincome countries (South Africa and Thailand), the Netherlands and UK.

Collaborating Institutions
•RadboudUniversity Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
• Center for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, UK
• Kintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division of Ghana Health Service, Kintampo, Ghana
• MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), South Africa
• Manhica Health Research Centre, Manhica, Mozambique
• icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietna
• Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand