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Issue 247, Friday 27 November 2009 - 10 Dhu al-Hijjah 1430

Health and Science:

By Rachel Kayani

GPs urged to cut use of antibiotics

GPs are being warned to cut back on the number of antibiotics they prescribe, amid fears that overuse is causing a rise in antibiotic resistance. In recent years, the Government, health protection experts and drug advisers have voiced concerns that overuse of antibiotics could increase the prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Now the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has warned if trends in antibiotic resistance continue it will make it more difficult to treat serious bacterial infections in the future and may also increase the risks associated with many surgical procedures.

The UK has seen rates of antibiotic resistance rise in recent years, and a similar situation has been reported across Europe. Doctors have been issued guidelines urging them not to prescribe antibiotics for minor illnesses. However, responsibility also lies with patients not to pressure GPs into giving them antibiotics when it is not necessary. For this reason the Government launched a major advertising campaign earlier this year telling people that antibiotics do not work on coughs or colds. Many coughs and colds are caused by viruses which are not affected by antibiotics – instead patients should rest, take hot drinks and seek advise from their Pharmacist about over the counter medicines.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been around almost as long as antibiotics themselves. When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics most of the bacteria will die off, however in a given population of bacteria there could be a few that are not killed off by the antibiotics - or are resistant. With less competition for space and resources the surviving bacteria can start to multiply. We cannot stop antibiotic resistant strains from appearing but we can hopefully slow the rate at which these bacteria spread. One way this can be done is by using antibiotics more responsibly.

In its latest warning the ECDC has said that using antibiotics when they are not necessary will increase resistance to them, and as a result operations could be compromised if antibiotics were powerless to protect patients from life-threatening infections.