Brasilia,
September 1rst, 2005 - 16:25 PM
Launched the project to prevent
resistance against antibiotic drugs
The microbial resistance against antibiotic drugs is increasing
worldwide, mainly in hospital environments. To change this panorama,
the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) -- in partnership
with the Pan-America Health Organization (PAHO) and the General
Coordination of Public Heath Laboratories of the Health Surveillance
Secretariat (CGLAB/SVS/MS) -- is implementing the Network for
Monitoring and Controlling the Microbial Resistance in Health
Services - RM network.
The uncontrolled and mistaken use of antibiotic drugs favors the
emergence of bacteria and other microorganisms, which are more
and more resistant, thus reducing the drugs’ efficacy. Longer
hospitalizations, the employment of more expensive and more toxic
antibiotic drugs are among the consequences of the undue use of
such drugs that, besides making the treatments harder and more
expensive, may even impair them.
To fight and control the resistance, it would be necessary to
map the sensitiveness profile of those organisms that affect the
hospitals and populations in general, i.e., to analyze the drug
effect on those microorganisms. In Brazil, the microbiological
data that have been surveyed and publicized are still incipient.
The RM Network was established to fill in this gap. In principle,
it should comprise the hospitais-sentinela (hospitals of high
complexity) and the Central Public Health Laboratories (Lacen).
This would be the pilot network, developing integrated and systematized
actions, employing standardized method, quality control, data
analysis and dissemination.
Project Stages
The project is divided into five stages. The first one (ongoing)
stands for the training to the professional staff in microbiology
laboratories belonging to the pilot network. The second one is
for the development and implementation of a regular program of
control over laboratory quality, standardizing the internal and
external control, besides performing regular performance assessments.
Finally, in the third stage the pilot network of national and
regional laboratory network, for the diagnosis and monitoring
of microbial resistance in health services, should become operational.
The last stage, in turn, does not close the project; instead,
it converts the project into a systematic activity, since it is
expected to continuously expand the pilot network and provide
feedback information both to health services and the population,
integrated to the International Network of Microbial Resistance,
of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Along all the stages, the RM Network will be supported by the
Technical-Advisory Committee for the Rational Use of Anti-microbial
Drugs and Microbial Resistance – Curarem, established on
06 July this year, as a consultative body. The committee is expected
to provide advisory services to Anvisa and the Ministry of Health,
concerning the establishment of guidelines and strategic definitions
of actions for surveillance, prevention and control of the microbial
resistance spread, whether community- or hospital-based, besides
following-up and assessing the actions developed.
CLSI Manual
Another novelty in the project is that it should adopt the international
standards for microbiological assays, according to the criteria
established by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute
- CLSI (former NCCLS). Anvisa bought the copyrights, in Portuguese,
of the CLSI manuals and its amendments, for five years. This standardization
manual, issued by the North-American institute, is divided into
five modules. It measures the agents’ (bacteria and microorganisms
in general) susceptibility to several anti-microbial drugs.
The free access to the manual reduces the laboratorial cost, besides
allowing for more accurate results, since it standardizes the
survey and analysis techniques. The interested professionals may
access the CLSI,
in Portuguese, at Anvisa webpage, Health Services, link to Manuals
(in portuguese).
Any suggestion or doubt may be forwarded to the General Management
of Technology in Health Services (GGTES), by e-mail (gipea@anvisa.gov.br)
or by the phone (61) 3448-1044.
Information: Anvisa Press Office
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