Raise awareness on the value of antibiotics, on the problem of antimicrobial resistance and the importance of managing and combating life-threatening bacterial infections. Raising awareness on the issue also through the stories of patients and caregivers, who play an increasingly crucial role in the war againstsuperbug emergency. It is the goal of ‘Infection in Focus‘, a new website created by Menarini under the aegis of Sita, the Italian Society of antibacterial-antiviral-antifungal anti-infective therapy.
Since the discovery of penicillin – remember the promoters of the project – antibiotics have made it possible to achieve enormous successes in the field of medicine and surgery: methods such as organ transplantation, chemotherapy and complex surgery are now possible thanks to the availability of these drugs. With the appearance of multi-resistant germshowever, infections are once again a threat to global health. Around the world, around 700,000 people die each year from developing antimicrobial resistance. And if this phenomenon is not remedied, the World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, infections with multidrug-resistant germs will cause 10 million deaths a year.
With the spread of multidrug-resistant germs, even infections that were curable up to a few years ago can have lethal consequences, routine medical procedures can become too risky, and serious infections can be increasingly difficult to treat. Cancer patients, in particular, are among the most at risk, whereas some cancers, such as multiple myeloma and acute leukemia, often require antibiotics for initial therapy to be successful.
Infection in Focus – reads a note – wants to bring attention to these issues, properly informing about the antibiotic-resistance threat and the importance of conscious use of antibiotics. The contents, available in Italian and English, were developed through multimedia materials, information sheets and frequently asked questions.
“With this new project, Menarini is once again close to patients, their families and doctors – he declares Lorenzo Melani, Global Medical and Pharmacovigilance Director of the pharmaceutical company – Our hope is that everyone will be able to receive correct information on the threat posed by multidrug-resistant germs and recognize the life-saving role of antibiotics, remembering that in Europe alone, superbugs cause around 30,000 victims every year “.