Table 2 Strategies to contain and minimize the development of antimicrobial resistance
From: The threat of antimicrobial resistance in developing countries: causes and control strategies
Control strategies | Contribution |
|---|---|
Hygiene and sanitation | Improving basic hygiene and sanitation will reduce the spread of resistant organisms |
Vaccination | Vaccination may reduce severity of disease, provide protection against shedding of pathogens and even raise the threshold load of pathogens required for infection |
Alternative therapies | The reluctance of pharmaceutical companies to invest in research and development of novel antimicrobial agents necessitate the exploration of alternative therapies such as bacteriophage, probiotics and Quorum Sensing inhibitors |
Education | Health care providers, dispensers and patients need to be educated on how the use and misuse of antimicrobial may contribute to the development of resistance |
Infection prevention & control | Proper hospital infection control may prevent the spread of nosocomial pathogens and resistant microbes that may have easily been disseminated to the community if these measure were not in place |