As winter approaches - albeit slowly - and sneezes and coughs become more common, the health authorities are urging people to take care of themselves but to be wary of using antibiotics.

Billboards have sprouted up around the island with a message about the correct use of the oft-overused medicine in the run-up to the first European Antibiotic Awareness Day on November 18.

And it is not just patients who need to be more careful, Infection Control Unit consultant Michael Borg said. Doctors and pharmacists also have an important role to play in curbing the abuse.

"Sometimes patients put pressure on their doctors to prescribe antibiotics and on pharmacists to give them the drug even without a prescription," he said.

All this may lead to the drug, considered to be a lifesaver, ineffective against certain bacteria. "Not only can abusing drugs have side effects but overuse is contributing to certain bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics," he said.

Antibiotic abuse in Malta is considered high when compared to other countries, with half of the Maltese taking at least one antibiotic course every year.

The first European Antibiotic Awareness Day is an initiative of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which is working in collaboration with a number of other bodies including EU institutions, member states and the World Health Organisation.

The ECDC has highlighted the need for public awareness about antibiotic use across Europe to address the health threat being posed by incorrect use of the drugs.