Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is increasing globally and one of the causes behind it is improper disposal of unused, unwanted and expired antibiotics. And in an attempt to address the issue, the department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) has prepared and installed two drop boxes inside the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad.
This is the first-of-its-kind initiative at a government setup in Telangana. The boxes were formally unveiled by dean and in-charge director of NIMS, N.Bheerappa, professor and head of CPT department P.Usha Rani and associate professor Prabhakar at the learning centre of NIMS.
Speaking to The Hindu, Dr.Usha Rani said, “Because of heavy usage of antibiotics and it being disposed of irregularly, whether expired or not, a lot of pollution is being caused in soil and water. The antibiotics are being dumped and it is entering water through canals, which is later getting transferred to crops. This whole process is resulting in antimicrobial resistance.”
People with unused or expired antibiotics and other medicines at their home, or patients coming to NIMS as well can dispose of those pills at the NIMS drop boxes, she said.
“We will collect the whole dump and proceed towards incineration, where we will incinerate the medicines at 1200 degree Celsius. This type of facility is not available anywhere. Countries like Belgium have a very strict policy on the disposal of drugs, especially antibiotics, where it is treated as a hazardous waste product category. This approach of ours is to reach the goal of India becoming responsible towards disposal of antibiotics,” she added.
The boxes are located inside the institute — one in the outpatient block and the other in the speciality block. The boxes have a lock system to prevent people from picking it up.
Based on the response, the hospital plans to procure more such boxes and install them at various places across the institute. During a session for the resident doctors and hospital staff, Dr.Bheerappa highlighted the rational and proper use of antibiotics which is essential for keeping the environment safe and clean.
