Key Points
Vaccines are key to preventing infection and thus reducing the use of antibiotics, supporting worldwide efforts to tackle rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO)...
The report showed that vaccines against 24 pathogens could help reduce the number of antibiotics needed by 22 per cent or 2.5 billion defined daily doses globally every year..
If vaccines could be rolled out against all these pathogens, it could save a third of the hospital costs associated with AMR...
The new report estimates that vaccines already in use against pneumococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib, a bacteria causing pneumonia and meningitis), and typhoid could avert up to 1,06,000 of the deaths associated with AMR each year...
An additional 5,43,000 deaths associated with AMR could be averted annually when new vaccines for tuberculosis (TB) and Klebsiella pneumoniae are developed and rolled out globally.. Further, the report showed that if the Immunization Agenda 2030 target of 90 per cent of the world's children were vaccinated, as well as older adults, it could save 33 million antibiotic doses against Streptococcus pneumoniae every year...
