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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the use of antibiotics in (a) the spread of methicillin resistant staphyloccus aureus and meningitis and (b) resistance to anti-malaria drugs and to anti-TB drugs; and if he will make a statement. [4665] Mr. Horam: Bacteria have the ability to develop resistance to antibiotics which are normally effective against them through exposure to these drugs. The emergence of some resistant bacteria such as MRSA is therefore a consequence of the necessity of antibiotic treatment in modern medical practice. Prevention of the spread of existing MRSA is dependent on effective infection control arrangement. In the case of tuberculosis, there is good evidence to relate the emergence of drug resistant tuberculosis to inadequate treatment of initially drug sensitive tuberculosis. In the United Kingdom, standard protocols have been in use for the treatment of tuberculosis for many years and the incidence of drug resistance is very low. New guidance issued this year aims to keep it this way. Recently published research conducted in Gloucester into general practitioner antibiotic prescribing and meningitis has produced some interesting observations-- including a possible link between meningitis and the high use of one particular type of antibiotic in towns in Gloucestershire in 1987. Such a hypothesis is, however, speculative and the findings need to be tested in other areas. The Public Health Laboratory Service will be asking its meningococcal working group for their recommendations on further work. Drug resistance of Plasmodium falciparum malaria to the anti-malarial drug cholroquine has increased in both intensity and geographical distribution over the last few years, and resistance to the newer antimalarial, mefloquine, is now a problem in parts of south-east Asia. These facts have to be borne in mind when considering an appropriate malaria prevention strategy for travel to endemic areas.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

285 c533W; 4665

Session

1996-97

Subjects

MRSA Tuberculosis Malaria Antimicrobial resistance