Pharmacies appear to be more stringent when it comes to selling antibiotic tablets then retailing creams without prescription, an exercise carried out by The Times suggests.

Pharmacists at seven outlets visited yesterday in Msida, Gżira and Sliema refused to sell Augmentin, a popular antibiotic used in many applications, without a prescription.

Two pharmacists suggested a milder alternative, such as lozenges, for the fake sore throat that was used as an excuse to buy the product. However, most only offered a flat refusal.

One pharmacist was willing to phone the doctor when a prescription could not be provided.

The outcome of the experiment contrasts sharply with a similar exercise carried out earlier this week by the newspaper in which pharmacists were asked for the common antibiotic cream Fucidin without prescription. Six of eight pharmacies in Valletta, Ħamrun and Floriana provided the cream without seeing a prescription or asking what it was going to be used for and another pharmacist suggested a stronger version of the cream that contains steroids. Only one pharmacist refused to sell the cream without prescription.

The Sunday Times reported that the misuse of antibiotic creams has been cited as a possible cause for the presence of a particular strain of the hospital superbug MRSA, which is resistant to fucidic acid, in Malta.

National Antibiotic Committee chairman Michael Borg said there was awareness when it came to the risks of antibiotic tablets and syrups but not enough on creams and ointments.

A pharmacist said that although she would never sell antibiotic tablets without a prescription, she had seen cases of what she thought were “crazy prescriptions” with doctors prescribing antibiotics when they were not needed.