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Antibiotic resistance 'big threat to health'
Antibiotic resistance is growing
Resistance to antibiotics is one of the greatest threats to modern health, experts say.
The warning from England's chief medical officer and the Health Protection Agency comes amid reports of growing problems with resistant strains of bugs such as E. coli and gonorrhoea.
They said many antibiotics were being used unnecessarily for mild infections, helping to create resistance.
And they urged patients to take more care with how they used medicines.
This is particularly important as there are very few new antibiotics in development.
'Alarming'The chief medical officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said: "Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at a rate that is both alarming and irreversible - similar to global warming.
"I urge patients and prescribers to think about the drugs they are requesting and dispensing.
"Bacteria are adapting and finding ways to survive the effects of antibiotics, ultimately becoming resistant so they no longer work.
Prof Dame Sally Davies warns of the consequences of antibiotic resistance
"The more you use an antibiotic, the more bacteria become resistant to it."
To reinforce her message, Dame Sally has issued a list of "dos and don'ts".
These include:
- Do remember antibiotics should be taken only when prescribed by a health professional.
- Do complete the prescribed course even if you feel better, as not taking the full course encourages the emergence of resistance.
- Don't share antibiotics with anyone else.
- Do remember that antibiotics cannot help you recover from infections caused by viruses, such as colds or flu.
The HPA said the last point was one of the common misconceptions among the public.
Dr Cliodna McNulty from the HPA said: "We all seem to forget just how awful you can feel with a bad cold, let alone flu, and this maybe makes us think that we are more poorly than we really are and that we need antibiotics to get better.
"But this isn't the case and using your favourite over-the-counter medicines that can help to ease headaches, aching muscles and stop your nose running will make you feel a lot better."
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Comment number 121.
cosmarchy16th November 2012 - 12:47
The way to beat this is to stop dishing anti-biotics out like sweets.
For goodness sake, the human race has survived for hundreds of thousands of years without them and making bugs resistant only makes nastier things to catch which wont be treated.
We could be making things worse.
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Comment number 84.
linford16th November 2012 - 12:10
sorry, but they DO work for me with my recent cold, cough and sore throat, so please do NOT generalise as to their effectiveness.
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Comment number 76.
Fiona MacHinery16th November 2012 - 12:10
It's at least 30 years since my then doctor said that he did not want to prescribe an antibiotic for a minor infection, because overprescribing can lead to the problems with resistance. If he knew then, how has this problem been allowed to develop? It's mostly because far too many patients turn up at their GPs' with unreasonable expectations and GPs hand them out to get rid of such patients asap.
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Comment number 49.
Megan16th November 2012 - 11:49
I wouldn't even bother the doctor for a mere cold, let alone ask for a medication that isn't effective against the virus that causes it!
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Comment number 17.
siwucha16th November 2012 - 11:21
Resistance to penicillin was described as early as the 1940s in some bacteria. The shortsightedness of taking antibiotics for granted and therefore over prescribing them and using them for pretty much any complaint is ridiculous - but unless this is tackled globally and also considered in farming etc where they are often doled out as routine prevention, the problem is only going to get worse.
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