China, which accounts for half the world's annual antimicrobial drug use, is facing a health crisis caused by its overdependence and wanton misuse of antibiotics.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in China could cause one million premature deaths annually by 2050 and cost the country some $20 trillion in health costs, said a recent study the Wellcome Trust in London. In addition, China is also overusing animal antibiotics.
Antibiotics are widely available without prescriptions throughout China for human and livestock use, the major factor in antibiotics misuse.
In 2013, China used 162,000 tons of antibiotics, around half of the world's total, according to state-run media. Over 50,000 tons of antibiotics were discharged into China's waterways and soil.
AMR is a growing worldwide problem, with the World Health Organization (WHO) saying "it's happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone."
As a result of its growing AMR problem, China said it will boost research and development into new antimicrobials and limit the overuse of existing medicines. Beijing recently revealed a national action plan in which it will mobilize 14 ministries and departments, including health, food and drugs and agriculture.
By 2020, Beijing aims to make sales of antibiotics by prescription only; increase surveillance of human and veterinary use of antibiotics and increase training and education for both medical professionals and consumers on the proper use of antibiotics.
"Antimicrobial resistance is a problem created by human behavior -- largely through the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in health care, as well as in animal husbandry," said Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO representative in China.
"That's why this National Action Plan is so significant -- it lays out a comprehensive approach to tackling the problem."
Widespread overuse of antibiotics and other drugs in China already is setting the stage for potentially catastrophic results. Chinese researchers at South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou reported finding resistance to colistin, the antibiotic of last resort, in a paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases in November 2015.
Researchers found the gene conferring drug resistance has spread among bacteria in China, where colistin is widely fed to livestock as a prophylactic.
China, which accounts for half the world's annual antimicrobial drug use, is facing a health crisis caused by its overdependence and wanton misuse of antibiotics.