Campaign to counter antibiotics abuse launched
A campaign to discourage the abuse and misuse of antibiotics was launched today by Parliamentary Secretary Joseph Cassar.
He said the misuse of antibiotics, in Malta and abroad, took various forms and had led to the growth of strains which resisted antibiotics.
He said that abuse and misuse included cases where patients did not complete their course of antibiotics, modified their doses or took antibiotics without prescription.
It was quite common, he said, for people in Malta to demand antibiotics by brand without prescription from their pharmacists, and protested when the medicine was not given to them - moving on to the next pharmacy until they got what they wanted.
Doctors, too, came under harsh criticism when they decided that antibiotics did not need to be prescribed.
Dr Cassar said the purpose of the campaign was to make people realise that antibiotics were useless and potentially harmful in several cases and doctors could not prescribe them unless necessary. Similarly, pharmacists could not give them over the counter.
The campaign will include billboards, adverts and leaflets and will reach its height in January at the peak of the cold and flu season.
Dr Michael Borg, chairman of the Infection Control Committee at Mater Dei Hospital said cases of MRSA had been significantly reduced through more effective countermeasures and the availability of better facilities.
8 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
edward bartolo
Nov 19th 2009, 08:10
My friends, I understand and agree that antibiotics should be taken only when necessary. In fact, I myself, ask any doctor prescribing them to me why I need them. Bacterial resistance/evolution is not a problem tied only with the use of antibiotics, but also, with any use of antibacterial cleaning agents. For instance, one does not need to use antibacterial floor detergents. These, like antibiotic misuse, increase the resistance of bacteria.
Ludwig Flask
Nov 18th 2009, 22:00
@ edward bartolo: I understood what you meant, thus I repeat your comment "What about the abuse of paracetamol?"
M Bonello
Nov 18th 2009, 18:15
@ Gianni Xuereb, U ejja Gan.....hundreds of prescription by a doctor in one morning........
Joseph A Borg
Nov 18th 2009, 14:13
@ edward bartolo
IANAD but: paracetamol offers symptomatic relief and reduces swelling, it has no effect on a bacterial or viral infection.
Antibiotics on the other hand actively destroy bacterial infections. Misuse by patients and overuse in farming and other industries (heard anti-biotics are illegally used as antifouling in yachts) are giving an opportunity for bacteria to evolve resistance to the various drugs currently available.
Gianni Xuereb
Nov 18th 2009, 13:27
Dr. Cassar failed to mention the abuse by certain doctors themselves and the way pharmaceutical companies and importers promote their antibiotics with doctors. I'm not putting all doctors in one bag but prescribing a 4th generation antibiotic costing at least €35 for a simple cold is plain ABUSE.
It is true that certain patients push doctors to prescribe antibiotics but they do so in their ignorance and education is the only way out of this mess. On the other hand doctors abusing from over-prescribing antibiotics are doing so in neglect, not ignorance. I knew of a particular doctor who boasted that he used to write down hundreds of prescriptions of the same antibiotic every morning and then handed them out to patients whatever medical condition they might be complaining of.
In my honest opinion the general public should be protected, not attacked. WAKE UP Medical Council.
KJ Tabone
Nov 18th 2009, 13:20
@edward bartolo
Abuse of paracetamol harms the [liver of the] person who is abusing it only (not gonna go into the merits of how it affects relatives etc). Abuse of antibiotics, on the other hand, results in resistant strains of bacteria that are passed on from person to person and can potentially spread to a whole population leading to infections that are increasingly difficult to treat, like multi-drug resistant Staph aureus or Tubercolosis infections. That is the difference.
Both boil down to patient education, and patients actually listening to the adive their pharmacist and doctor give them, but antibiotic abuse is more dangerous to the population at large.
That said, any medication can be abused of. If you have any doubts read the patient information leaflet carefully, and if that's not enough pop to your nearest pharmacy and ASK! We're not there to only dispense drugs.
Joseph Chetcuti
Nov 18th 2009, 13:20
What abuse by paracetamol? What on Earth does it have to do with antibiotics?
edward bartolo
Nov 18th 2009, 13:01
What about the abuse of paracetamol?