Lift a phone receiver to hear what British microbiologist Alexander Fleming, who discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, has to say about bugs; put on a headphone to hear what cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty has to say about the unnecessary use of antibiotics; or simply rotate a wheel to zoom in for a closer look at microbes. An interactive exhibition set up at the Nehru Science Centre, that opened on Wednesday, has picked up a topic of most relevance — ‘Superbugs: the end of antibiotics?’
Bacteria resistant to the available antibiotics kill nearly 7 lakh people a year and the number is expected to rise up to 1 crore by 2050. The exhibition aims at creating the much-needed public awareness on the issue. First set up in Delhi, the exhibition will travel to Bengaluru and Kolkata after Mumbai. It will remain in Mumbai till February 16.
“Bugs are not easy these days,” said physician Dr. Farokh E. Udwadia, who inaugurated the exhibition along with scientist and professor M.M. Sharma and other dignitaries. Talking about the challenges faced by hospitals due to resistant bacteria, Dr. Udwadia said he often finds patients infected with nasty bacteria and has had to shut down the unit for a thorough cleansing. “Prevention is extremely important. In high-risk units, the sicker the patient is, the more likely he is going to be infected with organisms resistant to antibiotics,” he said.
According to Dr. Udwadia, infection control committees in most hospitals don’t function as they should. He said that the real reduction of tuberculosis will be seen when the country’s economy, nutrition, and living conditions improve.
The exhibition has been developed jointly by the National Council of Science Museums; Ministry of Culture, Government of India; Science Museum Group, London; Wellcome Trust (U.K.) and is supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research. It took six months of research to plan exhibits with an Indian context.
“The story of antibiotic resistance is different everywhere you go,” said Sheldon Paquin, curator, Science Museum, London, who was a part of the team that put together the exhibition. “For example, the TB story was important for India. Another story that stood out was the availability of antibiotics over the counter in India, even though it is not meant to be that way,” he said, adding that the country’s long tradition of medicine through Ayurveda was also addressed.
Helen Jones, director engagement and strategy, Science Museum Group, said people and examples that feature on the panels of the exhibition are all Indian.
