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40 ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE & STEWARDSHIP WHO reports global increase in drug-resistant HIV By Anne-Marie Kommers H ealth authorities have discovered a worldwide increase in resistance to HIV drugs, according to Nature. The World Health Organization surveyed randomly selected clinics in 18 countries from 2014 to 2018 to determine resistance levels among people who had started HIV treatment during that period. They found over 10 percent of HIV-infected adults from 12 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas had developed resistance to two drugs used against HIV, efavirenz and nevirapine. It is not considered safe to prescribe more HIV medicines above the 10 percent threshold, as doing so could further increase resis- tance. Increased resistance may be due to people interrupting their treatment. More people were resistant when they restarted efavirenz and nevirapine after interrupting treatment, according to the WHO's report. The WHO recommends the affected countries substitute these two drugs with dolutegravir, which patients are less likely to develop resistance to. n Nonprescription antibiotic use is common, study finds By Mackenzie Bean U sing antibiotics without a prescription is a com- mon practice in the U.S., according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. For the study, researchers reviewed 31 studies pub- lished between 2000 and 2019 to assess the preva- lence of nonprescription antibiotic use in the U.S. Three study findings: 1. Nonprescription antibiotic use ranged from 1 per- cent to 66 percent based on population characteris- tics. Storage of antibiotics for future use also varied from 14 percent to 48 percent. 2. One study found 25 percent of patients at prima- ry care clinics intended to use antibiotics without a prescription, according to Consumer Reports. 3. Individuals reported obtaining antibiotics from various sources, including past prescriptions, local stores, and family or friends. n Drug-resistant urinary tract infections are on the rise: 5 things to know By Anne-Marie Kommers D rug-resistant strains of urinary tract infections have been on the rise, resulting in more hospitalizations, serious illnesses and prolonged discomfort for patients, according to e New York Times. Five things to know: 1. UTIs are among the world's most common infections, especially for women, and they were once easily treated with antibiotics. 2. Treatment is no longer so simple, however. A third of uncom- plicated Escherichia coli-caused UTIs, the most common type, are resistant to Bactrim, one of the most popular treatments, and at least a fih are resistant to five other common treatments, according to research from the New York City Department of Health. Several other types of UTIs also display resistance. 3. UTIs present the largest risk to healthy people from drug-resis- tant germs, which are usually more common in those with weak- ened immune systems or serious medical conditions. 4. To combat the problem, experts suggest developing cheap tools allowing physicians to perform instant urine cultures and analyze them for resistance. Physicians can then prescribe medications accordingly. Yet lab tests can be costly and take several days. 5. ough data is scarce, the frequency of UTIs suggests increas- ing resistance will cause more serious illnesses and fatalities in the future, according to the World Health Organization. n