Caribbean News

JAMAICA: Public urged to use antibiotics responsibly

Published

6 years ago

November 15, 2017

#Jamaica, November 15, 2017 – Kingston – The public is being urged to take greater responsibility in the use of antibiotics to prevent the further occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of a microorganism (bacterium, virus and some parasites) to prevent antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has adopted the global action plan, along with the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Animal Health Organization, to tackle antimicrobial resistance among humans and animals.

Director of Veterinary Public Health in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Linnette Peters, said the multi-stakeholder approach is to ensure that the public is made aware of the various causes for the resistance. Speaking at a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, she added that the public’s interest in this matter of AMR is important for the effective use of antibiotics. She said everyone should get involved to assist in the continuity of successful treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Dr. Peters outlined a number of ways microorganisms have developed resistance, and is urging the public to pay keen attention to prevent further opposition to the drugs.

“We have the problem of the misuse and abuse of antibiotics… (as) many times patients visit their physicians and ask for antibiotics for an illness that does not require the use of the drug,” she noted.

She stressed that sometimes the antibiotic is not really needed to treat the condition for which the patient requests it, and, as a result of giving the antibiotic for a simple matter, the body is forced to build up resistance to prevent the drug from working in the future. Dr. Peters said that there are also situations where persons get the antibiotics and do not take them for the full course.

“This is very critical. There are times when the patient starts to feel well and he or she will stop taking it. This is a very bad thing to do, because when you do this, the bacteria are still in the body, just a little suppressed; hence you feel better, but the bacteria will return strong if the full dosage is not administered. So, you should desist from this practice,” she urged.

Dr. Peters is encouraging the public to purchase antibiotics from reputable sources, official pharmacies and doctors. She explained that it is very important that the public take heed to the appeal, adding that buying antibiotics from disreputable places is dangerous.

“They are sometimes not stored properly, so they will lose the potency; sometimes they are expired drugs, and if you take medication with these conditions, the strength will not be enough to kill the germs,” she said.

Dr. Peters noted that there is also the misuse of antibiotics by farmers as growth promoters, which is a concern and a big problem in AMR.

“Farmers are adding antibiotics to the animal feed, and when the animal consumes it, this will affect the lining of the intestine, and organisms in the stomach that are exposed to this antibiotic (may) develop resistance,” she said.

She explained that farmers should adhere to the instructions of the veterinarians to ensure that the animals are treated and the withdrawal period is observed. This, she advised, is to safeguard that the drug is fully out of the animal’s system before it is slaughtered for sale.

Dr. Peters said if the meat is sold with residues from the drug, it is especially dangerous, because the animals will not be cured from the bacterial infections, and, if consumed, it will pose a greater problem to the health of the public.

World Antibiotic Awareness Week is being observed from November 13 to 19, under the theme ‘Antibiotic, the End of an Era’.

Release: JIS

Caribbean News

STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS EXPECTED TO ASSIST GOV’T PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2024

Shanieka

KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.

This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.

“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.

He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).

Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.

“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.

“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.

Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.

Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.

The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.

NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.

CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON

Caribbean News

Haiti- ECHO humanitarian efforts

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Shanieka

Rashaed Esson

Staff writer

#Haiti#Crisis#HumanitarianEfforts#ECHO, April 23rd, 2024 – Due to the worsening Humanitarian crisis in Haiti with an increase in death toll and injured people, The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), launched an emergency airlift of 5 flights carrying essentials which include up to 62 tons of medicine as well as emergency shelter equipment, and water and sanitation items. These were brought to Cap Haitien according to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on April 19, as the international Airport in Port au prince remains closed following the gang attack last month.

Caribbean News

Dominica repeals laws criminalizing gay sex

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Shanieka

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Dominica#LGBTQIA, April 24, 2034- Dominica has decided to remove colonial era laws that criminalized gay sex, joining Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.

This comes almost five years after a man of the queer community, whose identity was withheld for his safety, spoke out against Dominica’s laws in 2019, saying they violated his rights.