A campaign by the Chinese Government to reduce the serious public health challenge of antimicrobial resistance* has been largely successful but important obstacles remain if China is to reduce the high death rates and ill-health caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, according to Chinese experts writing in PLOS Medicine.
Yonghong Xiao and colleagues from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, explain that in China, the main cause of antimicrobial resistance is the irrational use of antimicrobial drugs, in healthcare and veterinary settings and also by the general public.
In 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Health launched a campaign to promote the rational use of antimicrobials in healthcare settings by establishing mandatory management strategies, such as target setting, taskforce organization, and the development of audit and inspection systems. Consequently, antibiotic sales decreased and as did the percentage of prescriptions for antimicrobials for both hospitalized patients and outpatients.
However, according to the authors, a number of challenges, such as the unregulated use of antibiotics in animal husbandry and over-the-counter purchases of antibiotics, still need to be addressed to ensure further improvements.
Eliminating economic incentives for drug sales is also of utmost important. The authors say: "Finally, and critically, the government should widen the healthcare reforms and provide financial guarantees to medical institutions to ensure that economic incentives from drug sales are eliminated."
They add: "This will return healthcare institutions to a not-for-profit status and aid professional standards."