%0 Journal Article
%@ 2369-2960
%I JMIR Publications
%V 9
%N 
%P e45121
%T Technology, Training, and Task Shifting at the World’s Largest Mass Gathering in 2025: An Opportunity for Antibiotic Stewardship in India
%A Chan,Isaac H Y
%A Gofine,Miriam
%A Arora,Shitij
%A Shaikh,Ahmed
%A Balsari,Satchit
%+ Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 1 Deaconess Road, Boston, MA, 02215, United States, 1 6177542400, sbalsari@bidmc.harvard.edu
%K digital tools
%K mass gathering
%K Kumbh Mela
%K antibiotics
%K antimicrobial
%K stewardship
%K surveillance
%K public health
%K informatics
%K India
%D 2023
%7 8.3.2023
%9 Viewpoint
%J JMIR Public Health Surveill
%G English
%X The role of antibiotic overuse in intensifying selection pressures and contributing to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance is well established. The Kumbh Mela, a religious festival that occurs in 4 Indian cities of spiritual significance, is the world’s largest mass gathering, attracting over 80 million pilgrims in 2013. Digital syndromic surveillance from the 2013 and 2015 Melas demonstrated a consistent pattern of antibiotic overuse, with an antibiotic prescribing rate of up to 31% for all patient encounters. As preparations for the 2025 Kumbh Mela begin, task shifting, point-of-care diagnostic and digital tools, robust clinician training, and community awareness can promote the restrained and evidence-based use of antibiotics, minimizing the potential for the emergence of antimicrobial resistance at the world’s largest mass gathering.
%M 36805363
%R 10.2196/45121
%U https://publichealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e45121
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/45121
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36805363