Around the time of new year 2012, Rob started having a headache and a terrible pain. Rob made several trips to healthcare facilities in the USA and was attended by several doctors and treated for a range of conditions (which later were found to be incorrectly diagnosed). He wrongly got treated for them- from sinus infections to cluster headaches etc.
Right diagnosis was Coccidioidomycosis - a form of meningitis caused by Valley fever, a disease caused by a fungus endemic in the soil of south-west USA.
"My fungal disease of meningitis, primarily presents as a pneumonia - and because of that it is one of the reasons that multiple prescriptions of antibiotics on an average are prescribed to patients of Coccidioidomycosis," said Rob.
Rob had to endure years of struggle and battle AMR.
"Fungal AMR is very intertwined with agricultural use of pesticides. So rather than emerging out of overprescription of antibiotics - which happens obviously on the bacterial side, it has more to do with the use of pesticides to control fungus in agriculture. That is an important example why One Health approach is so critical to address AMR," said Rob.
It is high time we stop misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines in all sectors - be it human health, animal health and livestock, or food and agriculture, and stop polluting our environment. Let us hope this year's WAAW 2025 serves as another wake up call to accelerate science-based approaches to prevent AMR with One Health approach.
Shobha Shukla CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS. She was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at United Nations inter-governmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025). She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College; current President of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media); Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024); and Host of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights). Follow her on Twitter/X @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)
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