A research group led by Kosuke Nagai, a dentist (graduate student of dentistry) at Niigata University, has revealed that more than 8% of community-acquired pneumoniae are resistant to antibiotics (macrolides).
Streptococcus pneumoniae causes pneumonia in the elderly and otitis media in children.Antibiotics are used for treatment, and they used to be effective, but when they are used frequently, they become resistant to Streptococcus pneumoniae, and antibiotics are becoming less effective year by year.In recent years, the number of deaths due to pneumonia in Japan has exceeded 10 every year, making it the third leading cause of death.The mortality rate from pneumonia is higher in the elderly, and 3% of the deaths from pneumonia are over 95 years old.In today's aging society, it is necessary to correctly understand drug resistance and take countermeasures against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is the main causative agent of pneumonia.
Until now, resistant strains have been thought to increase in inpatients in large hospitals.However, according to this study, 2014% of the 2017 pneumococcal strains isolated from patients with otitis media in Niigata City from 2,608 to 82 were found to be resistant to macrolide antibiotics (Note).It was shown that resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, for which macrolide antibiotics do not work, is widely spread to people who spend their daily lives in the city.In addition, 38% of community-acquired pneumoniae are resistant to penicillin antibiotics, and even multidrug-resistant bacteria that are resistant to both antibiotics and new quinolone antibiotics are distributed in the city. I understood.
Oral macrolide antibiotics are used in large quantities domestically, and the government has set a goal of halving their use by 2020.This time, the need to limit the use of macrolide antibiotics has been scientifically proven.While the research group is developing new treatments and prevention methods that do not rely on antibiotics, it is also developing activities to raise awareness of AMR.
(Note) One of the nine antibiotics classified by antibacterial action.It is said to have strong antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria and atypical pathogens.
