Imagine you are battling a stubborn infection, and your doctor prescribes antibiotics to help you get better. But what if you go to a pharmacy and the antibiotics you were sold aren’t real, in fact, they are counterfeits, fake or subpar?
Looking at this hypothetical scenario already gives you a picture of how this kind of problems is making the fight against antibiotic resistance even tougher, according to findings by researchers and published in Nature Communications.
Hidden danger of fake medicines
Also, as dangerous as expired medicines, fake and substandard drugs are those that don’t meet the quality standards they should. They might be poorly made or have the wrong ingredients. Some even pretend to be something they are not.
But research says these shady medicines can harm in more ways than one as traditional approach to antimicrobial dosing characterized by a ‘hit hard and early strategy.’
Antibiotics resistance has become a looming global health crisis and may find an unlikely ally in counterfeit and substandard pharmaceuticals, according to a comprehensive review published in Nature Communications.
Despite the potentially grave implications for public health, research into the nexus between these dubious medication and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), remains scant.
For starters, they might not have the right amounts of medicines we may require to get better. In fact, some of the pills, thinking they are helpful, but they are actually doing nothing in the body or even creating new problems underneath the skin. This explains why some patients are often frustrated and they stay sick much longer than necessary.
Tricky balance
Understanding the ramifications and unravelling how drug exposure shapes resistance, and delving into the distribution of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in these treatments necessitates further investigation, the report says.
Getting the right amounts of medicine is like a delicate balancing diet so it can hit the bacteria hard and knock them out as quickly as possible. But when the desired result is not obtained as expected, the patient gets more tempted to take more in variance to doctor’s prescription, and the bacteria causing the ailment grows stronger, the report notes.
It says further that fake medicines throw a much bigger wrench into works at they often have too little or no linctus that renders them practically useless. And sometimes, they contain wrong ingredients that do not dissolve properly in the body, which means, the body is not getting any benefit to either get better or the bacteria to have a chance to fight back.
Risk of spreading superbugs
The report notes that these subpar products may lack APIs altogether, possess different APIs than indicated by the pharmaceutical companies, or fail dissolution tests. The consequences extend beyond patient outcomes, straining healthcare systems and economies alike.
However, medications that fall below established quality standards due to manufacturing deficiencies or supply chain degradation, are deemed not suitable for medical use. They are considered counterfeit drugs that may contain excessive or insufficient quantities of APIs, often obscuring their true identity, composition or origin.
The quantity and bioavailability of APIs during a typical treatment regimen with high-quality antimicrobials, as well as how these factors shift with substandard and counterfeit drugs, and as well shape the impact of inferior antibiotics on AMR.
And when the substandard drugs exhibit a higher incidence of AMR emergence compared to recommended dosages, they become contributors to AMR. So, API absorption rates may also influence AMD rates, thereby cause lower absorption rates, resulting in reduced peak drug concentrations.
Also, substandard medications may lower AMR rates if they lack APIs, contain minimal APIS, or APIs to which the pathogen is not susceptible. Consequently, AMR may surge with marginally lower API quantities or poor bio availability due to improper dissolution and absorption.
Bottom line
A major reason for concern is that in a world where infections are increasing and can be life-threatening, doctors often rely on prescribing antibiotics to keep their patients healthy. But fake and subpar medicines are undermining the ability to fight infections effectively. So, it’s not just a health problem; it is an urgent issue we all need to be aware of.
Untreated infections elevate the risk of transmitting resistant strains. Bioavailability and the percentage of API may impact the transfer of resistant bacteria.
The report then advised that the next time you take a medicine, remember that what’s inside that pill or syringe matters as we all deserve real and effective treatments to get better. And by fighting against fake medicines, we can help safeguard our health and the health of those around us.
