India, Dec. 3 -- That urinary tract infections (UTIs) are getting difficult to treat, particularly in the elderly is a common refrain among doctors across hospitals, and across cities. More and more patients within and outside hospitals are being asked to do culture tests based on their initial response (or lack of it) to first line antibiotics. Cultures try to grow and identify a pathogen in laboratory conditions.

These are why the findings of the eighth report of the AMR Surveillance Network brought out by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) - which has flagged increasing difficulty in treating UTIs, diarrhoea and respiratory infections--while extremely significant from a public health perspective and in setting the guidance for...